Deaths of Palestinian children in strikes must be accounted for, says UN

It has called for investigations into all fatal incidents where any person was killed or injured

Palestinians search through the rubble of a building hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza city. AP

Those responsible for the deaths and injuries of Palestinian children this month must be brought to account, the UN rights chief said on Thursday.

The call follows the three days of intense conflict between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants in the densely populated Palestinian enclave of Gaza last week.

"Inflicting hurt on any child during the course of conflict is deeply disturbing," said Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"The killing and maiming of so many children this year is unconscionable."

Israel said its air and artillery strikes were aimed at positions of the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad group.

Ms Bachelet's office said 19 Palestinian children had been killed in the recent unrest, taking the total number this year to 37.

The latest child killed was Liyan Al Shaer, 10, who died in a Jerusalem hospital on Thursday from a head wound sustained in the latest round of Gaza violence.

Seventeen children were killed during the Gaza hostilities from August 5 to 7, while two more were killed on Tuesday in Israeli law enforcement operations in the West Bank.

Gaza Strip hit by Israeli strikes — in pictures

Riyad Mansour, Palestinian permanent observer to the UN, addresses a Security Council meeting in New York. Reuters

Palestinians search through the rubble of a building in which Khaled Mansour, a top Islamic Jihad militant, was killed in an Israeli air strike on Sunday, in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip. AP

Mohammad Arada removes a tricycle from the rubble of his home after it was destroyed by an Israeli air strike, in the Rafah refugee camp. AP

Women mourn during the funeral of four teenage Palestinian cousins in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters

People march during a rally in support of Gaza Strip residents at the Grand Central Terminal in New York. EPA

Palestinians celebrate on a street in Gaza city after a ceasefire was announced. Reuters

Palestinians burn tyres near the Huwwara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, during a protest against Israel's air strikes in Gaza. EPA

Children cry during the funeral of Tamim Hijazi in Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. The Gaza resident was killed in an Israeli air strike. AP

Smoke billows from a building struck during an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel bombarded Islamic Jihad positions in the Gaza Strip for a third day, with 31 Palestinians killed. AFP

Palestinians inspect a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike on Rafah in the Gaza Strip. EPA

A Palestinian rocket is fired from Gaza City toward Israel as Israel bombarded Islamic Jihad positions in the Gaza Strip for a third day. AFP

The Palestinian Civil Defence evacuate a wounded man following an explosion in Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip. AP

A Palestinian man in the rubble of his badly damaged home, which was struck by Israeli missiles in Gaza City. AFP

A Palestinian woman and her daughter survey the damage to their home, caused by the Israeli air strikes, in the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters

Palestinians search the rubble of a building in which Khaled Mansour, a chief Islamic Jihad militant, was killed in an Israeli air strike on Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. AP

An Israeli Iron Dome air defence system launches a missile to intercept rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, on the outskirts of the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. AFP

The friend of a young Palestinian killed during the night in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, is overcome at his funeral in the same camp. AFP

The body of Palestinian Muhammad Hassouna, who was killed in an Israeli air strike, is prepared for his funeral at a hospital in Rafah. AP

An Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter fires flares in the sky above the Israel-Gaza border. Reuters

A Palestinian boy looks out of a car damaged amid Israel-Gaza fighting, in the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters

Israeli police keep watch while Jews visit the Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem on Sunday. Reuters

Palestinians search a destroyed building in which leading Islamic Jihad militant Khaled Mansour was killed by an Israeli air strike in Rafah. AP

Israeli extreme-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, centre, speaks to the media as he makes his way to the Al Aqsa complex in East Jerusalem. EPA

Israelis rest in a bomb shelter after rocket attacks fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel. Palestinian officials say at least 32 people in Gaza have died in latest surge of violence. AP

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group fires rockets from Gaza City. Israel's military has said it 'neutralised' the group's leadership group in the enclave, where at least 32 people, including six children, have been killed in three days of Israeli strikes. EPA

Palestinian medics take an injured man to hospital. AFP

Palestinians carry an injured girl to hospital following an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

Palestinians search for casualties in the rubble of a residential building in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

A salvo of rockets is fired from Gaza City towards Israel. AFP

Palestinians gather at a hospital in Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. AFP

The UN Human Rights Office said that among the 48 Palestinians killed in last week's Gaza conflict, there were at least 22 civilians. They included the 17 children.

Of the 360 Palestinians reported injured, nearly two thirds were civilians, including 151 children, the high commission said.

Three Gazan children are on life-support systems at a hospital in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported Thursday.

"In a number of incidents, children were the majority of casualties," Ms Bachelet's office said.

"Launching an attack which may be expected to incidentally kill or injure civilians, or damage civilian objects, in disproportionate manner to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated, is prohibited.

"Such attacks must stop."

Residents in Gaza Strip welcome ceasefire between Israel and militants - video

Ms Bachelet's office said that, also in violation of international humanitarian law, Palestinian armed groups launched hundreds of rockets and mortars in indiscriminate attacks, causing civilian casualties in both Israel and Gaza.

Israel insists that some of the civilian deaths including children were killed by Islamic Jihad rockets that fell short or misfired.

Ms Bachelet called for investigations into all incidents where any person was killed or injured.

"An almost total lack of accountability persists in the occupied Palestinian territory," she said.

"Whether for violations of international humanitarian law by all parties in hostilities in Gaza, or for recurring Israeli violations of international human rights law and the law of occupation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem."