The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, expressed “horror” on Monday at the Israeli shelling of a refugee camp in Rafah that killed dozens of people.

“The images from the camp are horrific and show that the methods and means used by Israel, which have already led to so many civilian deaths, are not changing,” Mr. Turk said, according to a statement released by his services. in Geneva.

At the same time, Mr. Turk condemned the rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups.

The Israeli bombardment came hours after eight rockets were fired at Tel Aviv from Rafah. Hamas’s military arm said it launched a “large volley of rockets in retaliation for the massacres of civilians by the Zionists.”

In his statement, Mr. Turk also demanded the immediate and unconditional release by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza of hostages they have been holding since the October 7 attack on Israeli territory that triggered the war.

The High Commissioner recorded that the Israeli military said it was investigating the bombing, which according to the latest tally by the Hamas health ministry killed 45 people.

“What is shockingly clear is that by hitting an area full of civilians this was the entirely predictable outcome,” the UN official said, stressing that the announced investigation must lead to “accountability” and “changes in policy and practice.”

“I call on Israel to stop the military attack (…) on Rafah, as ordered by the International Court” of The Hague, he added.

He demanded that the two parties declare a ceasefire.

The unprecedented raid by Hamas’ military arm on southern sectors of Israeli territory on October 7 left more than 1,170 people dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

Of the other 252 people abducted and taken to the Palestinian enclave, 121 are believed to be still being held hostage there, but 37 of them are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli military.

Israel’s wide-scale, devastating military retaliatory operations, whose political and military leadership have vowed to eliminate Hamas, have so far killed at least 36,050 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Islamist movement’s health ministry.