Israeli strikes on Iran may have violated international law, UN mission says, World News
Israel began airstrikes on Iran in a surprise attack on June 13 that killed many of Iran's top commanders and has intensified attacks since, prompting an exodus from the capital. The United States joined on Sunday by hitting Iran's underground nuclear sites.
"Among those killed in Tehran were dozens of residents of an apartment complex and three humanitarian workers from the Iranian Red Cross, while damaged sites included a clinic for children with autism and a hospital in Kermanshah," the investigative body said in a statement to journalists, referring to the Israeli strikes.
"This, and the reported lack of effective advance warning by Israel, which may affect the population's ability to reach safety, raise serious concerns in relation to the principles of proportionality, distinction, and precaution under international humanitarian law."
The mission said that millions had so far fled the capital and that a lack of warning systems, adequate shelters and internet restrictions had increased the dangers.
After Israel struck a notorious jail for political prisoners on Monday, the experts voiced concern about detainees held near the sites of bombings.
"The experts call on the Iranian authorities to relocate prisoners away from locations at risk from the airstrikes," the statement said.
It also voiced concerns about reports of arbitrary arrests by Iranian authorities of activists, journalists and social media users accused of espionage with Israel — a crime that is punishable by death in Iran.
[[nid:719411]]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
19 minutes ago
- Straits Times
German court rules Holocaust memorial can bar people wearing keffiyeh scarves
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox BERLIN - A German court said on Aug 20 that a Nazi concentration camp memorial has the right to refuse entry to those wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf. The higher administrative court in the eastern state of Thuringia rejected a request from a woman to be allowed entry to the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial while wearing a keffiyeh. According to local media reports, the woman was turned away when she attempted to attend a commemorative event marking the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation in April while wearing the scarf. She then petitioned the courts to allow her to return to the memorial for another commemorative event this week while wearing a keffiyeh. The court found that the memorial was within its rights to deny her entry, pointing to the woman's declared aim of 'sending a political message against what she saw as the (memorial's) one-sided support for the policies of the Israeli government'. 'It is unquestionable that this would endanger the sense of security of many Jews, especially at this site,' the court said. The court said the woman's right to freedom of expression was outweighed in this case by the memorial's 'interest in upholding the purpose of the institution'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 18 persons nabbed and 82 vapes seized in HSA ops in Raffles Place and Haji Lane Singapore 3 Sengkang Green Primary pupils suspended for bullying classmate, with 1 of them caned: MOE Singapore Woman trapped between train doors: Judge rules SBS Transit '100% responsible' Singapore Religion growing in importance for Singaporeans: IPS study Life Record number of arts patrons in 2024, but overall donation dips to $45.74m Life 'Loss that's irreplaceable': Local film-makers mourn closure of Singapore indie cinema The Projector Singapore Nearly 2 years' jail, caning for man caught with at least 100 sexually explicit videos of children Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch Germany, still trying to atone for the murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust, has been one of Israel's staunchest allies. However, in recent months it has sharpened its criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz announcing this month that no more licences would be granted for arms exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza. The Buchenwald memorial faced criticism last month when an internal document was leaked which described the keffiyeh as 'closely associated with efforts to destroy the state of Israel'. The director of the memorial, Mr Jens-Christian Wagner, said subsequently that the document contained 'mistakes' and would have to be reworked. On the question of the keffiyeh, he told the NDR broadcaster in July that it was not per se 'a forbidden symbol' at the memorial. 'However, when it is used together with other symbols... to relativise Nazi crimes, then we would ask people to remove those symbols,' he said. Around 340,000 prisoners, including Jews, Roma, homosexuals and Soviet prisoners of war, passed through Buchenwald and its annexe Mittelbau-Dora, both located near the German city of Weimar. Around 56,000 people lost their lives at Buchenwald – some executed, others starved or worked to death – and a further 20,000 died in Mittelbau-Dora, where inmates worked on the Nazis' V1 and V2 rockets. AFP
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump administration imposes fresh sanctions on four ICC officials
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, as Washington kept up its pressure on the war tribunal over its targeting of Israeli leaders. Washington designated Nicolas Yann Guillou of France, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal, and Kimberly Prost of Canada, according to the U.S. Treasury and State Department. ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. Guillou is an ICC judge who presided over a pre-trial panel that issued the arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Khan and Niang are the court's two deputy prosecutors. The move comes less than three months after the administration took the unprecedented step of slapping sanctions on four separate ICC judges, saying they have engaged in ICC's "illegitimate and baseless actions" targeting the U.S. and close ally Israel. ICC, which had slammed the move in June, describing it as an attempt to undermine the independence of the judicial institution, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ICC, which was established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in member states or if a situation is referred by the U.N. Security Council. The United States, China, Russia, and Israel are not members. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 18 persons nabbed and 82 vapes seized in HSA ops in Raffles Place and Haji Lane Singapore 3 Sengkang Green Primary pupils suspended for bullying schoolmate, with 1 of them caned: MOE Singapore Woman trapped between train doors: Judge rules SBS Transit '100% responsible' Singapore Religion growing in importance for Singaporeans: IPS study Life 'Loss that's irreplaceable': Local film-makers mourn closure of Singapore indie cinema The Projector Singapore COE premiums up in all categories except motorcycles; Cat A price climbs 2.5% to $104,524 Singapore Nearly 2 years' jail, caning for man caught with at least 100 sexually explicit videos of children Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch It has high-profile war crimes investigations under way into the Israel-Hamas conflict and Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as in Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Venezuela, and Afghanistan. The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets the individuals may have and essentially cut them off from the U.S. financial system. REUTERS
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Israel approves major West Bank settlement project
JERUSALEM: A widely condemned Israeli settlement plan that would cut across land which the Palestinians seek for a state received final approval on Wednesday (Aug 20), according to a statement from Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The approval of the E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, was announced last week by Smotrich and received final go-ahead from a defence ministry planning commission on Wednesday, he said. Restarting the project could further isolate Israel, which has watched some Western allies frustrated by its continuation and planned escalation of the Gaza war, announce they may recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. "With E1 we are delivering finally on what has been promised for years," Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition, said in a statement. "The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions." The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the announcement on Wednesday, saying that the E1 settlement would isolate Palestinian communities living in the area and undermine the possibility of a two-state solution. A German government spokesperson commenting on the announcement told reporters on Wednesday that settlement construction violates international law and "hinders a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not commented on the E1 announcement. 06:50 Min However on Sunday, during a visit to Ofra, another West Bank settlement established a quarter of a century ago, he made broader comments, saying: "I said 25 years ago that we will do everything to secure our grip on the Land of Israel, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, to prevent the attempts to uproot us from here. Thank God, what I promised, we have delivered." The two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict envisages a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, existing side by side with Israel. Western capitals and campaign groups have opposed the settlement project due to concerns that it could undermine a future peace deal with the Palestinians. The plan for E1, located adjacent to Maale Adumim and frozen in 2012 and 2020 amid objections from the US and European governments, involves the construction of about 3,400 new housing units. Infrastructure work could begin within a few months, and house building in about a year, according to Israeli advocacy group Peace Now, which tracks settlement activity in the West Bank. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law.
