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UN cites Gaza death toll
The United Nations condemned intensifying Israeli military attacks in Gaza, saying they killed at least 57 Palestinians, including six children, in the past week from July 13 to July 20.
UN rights office spokesman Thameen al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva that “Nine months after the announcement of a ceasefire, still, nowhere is safe for Palestinians in Gaza,” as he described attacks that also injured dozens of Palestinians.
The UN rights office said 34 of the victims were “killed far away from the Israeli-imposed yellow line,” including an apartment attack in Gaza City where “five members of one family were killed together: both parents and three siblings.”
The UN said the Israeli army announced strikes in the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad members it said were involved in the Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel or in the holding of hostages, and it reported striking a weapons depot, an arms manufacturing site, and a rocket-launching position.
“Nowhere is safe”
Thameen al-Kheetan warned that the “Israeli military has intensified its attacks in Gaza in recent days, killing and injuring dozens of Palestinians,” and he said the UN rights office had determined that 10 Israeli attacks in Gaza City, middle Gaza, north Gaza and Khan Younis killed at least 21 Palestinians.
The UN rights office also urged third states to take “urgent action” to ensure full respect for the ceasefire, end violations and secure accountability and justice, while Anadolu Ajansı reported the same UN warning that “nowhere is safe” for Palestinians in Gaza.
UN News said the UN chief and top officials condemned the killings as a surge of violence rocked the West Bank, and it cited the UN aid coordination office OCHA for reporting that continued Israeli military operations and deteriorating access further limited humanitarian assistance.
In Geneva, UN News quoted Thameen Al-Kheetan saying “The whole of the Gaza Strip is under the Israeli occupation,” and it added that he said “Human rights of the Palestinians ought to be respected, the Israeli occupation has to end and a fair, durable two-State solution has to be implemented.”
Yellow line and legal stakes
The UN rights office said Palestinians remained trapped in an ever-shrinking area as Israel shifted the “yellow line” westwards, and it warned that the Israeli military appears to “routinely fire on Palestinians for mere presence in the vicinity of that line.”
“UN human rights office warns of escalating Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in recent days and the civilian casualties they leave, calling for respecting the ceasefire and ensuring accountability for violations”
UN News said the UN Spokesperson condemned “all killings of civilians,” and it added that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected.
The Straits Times reported that Kheetan stressed “the killing of civilians in these attacks raises concerns of continuing violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and other possible atrocity crimes in Gaza,” and it quoted him saying “Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians is a war crime.”
The UN said more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the truce took effect in October 2025, and it reported that the UN rights office had verified the killing of 685 Palestinians between October 2025 and April 2026.
