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| Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for UN-HCHR, briefing reporters in Geneva [PHOTO: UNifeed] |
Geneva: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
condemned Israel's aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip as well as rockets fired by
Hamas militants into southern Israel and called on both sides to step back from
the brink.
At least 20 Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed
since Israel began its offensive on Wednesday (14 November). Overnight the
Israeli military struck at more than 130 targets and militants fired 11 rockets
from Gaza.
OHCHR Spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva that Navi Pillay was
"appalled that once again civilians are losing their lives".
Colville added that Pillay was also "extremely
concerned by the sharp increase in aerial attacks by Israeli forces on the
heavily populated Gaza Strip in the past two days and urges both sides to pull
back from an increasingly dangerous confrontation".
Violence escalated after the killing by Israel of Hamas'
military leader Ahmed Jabari on Wednesday following a surge in rocket attacks
from Gaza.
OHCHR Spokesperson said that "the High Commissioner has
repeatedly and unequivocally condemned the indiscriminate firing of rockets
from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, and is deeply concerned both by the
recent major upsurge in the number of rocket attacks, and that they are now
being aimed at a major city such as Tel Aviv".
Two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip targeted Tel Aviv on
Thursday in the first attack on Israel's commercial capital in 20 years. -UNifeed