UN warns Israeli civilian deaths near Gaza yellow line

The United Nations human rights office has raised serious concerns that Israeli forces may be unlawfully killing Palestinian civilians near a shifting military boundary in Gaza, with data indicating about a third of verified Palestinian fatalities since an October ceasefire occurred in that area. The office stated such actions would constitute war crimes.

According to U.N. data covering the period from the ceasefire through February 5, 152 of 453 verified Palestinian deaths occurred near the armistice line with Hamas. The fatalities included 102 men, 15 women, 24 boys, and 11 girls. Ajith Sunghay, head of the U.N. Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory, said the pattern is alarming.

"The available information raises serious concerns that the Israeli army is shooting at and killing presumed civilians simply on the basis of their proximity to the so-called yellow line, which would amount to unlawful killings and thus war crimes," Sunghay said. He added that civilians did not appear to pose a risk to Israeli troops and that some were shot while carrying out daily activities or approaching the boundary, which he described as often unclear to Palestinians. "Nobody...