The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said on Sunday that “the killing of such a large number of people in schools in the Gaza Strip contravenes measures to protect civilians under international law.”

This came in press statements published on the United Nations website.

Turk added, "The horrific events of the past 48 hours in Gaza are unbelievable."

He explained that "the killing of this large number of people in schools, which were turned into shelters in Gaza, contradicts measures to protect civilians, in accordance with international law."

The UN Human Rights Commissioner noted that the pain, terror and fear etched on the faces of children, women and men in Gaza are “too great to bear.”

Turk urged the international community to "defuse the powder keg in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories."

He stressed that "Israeli military operations are still continuing inside and around Al-Shifa Hospital, and United Nations colleagues visited the site on Saturday, and saw with their own eyes what they described as a death zone."

At dawn on Wednesday, the Israeli army stormed the Al-Shifa complex after besieging it for days, which included civilians displaced from their homes as a result of the continuous Israeli bombing in the area.

He concluded his speech by saying, "Humanity must come first, and there is an urgent need for a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons, and for reasons related to human rights. Now."