‘Grim milestone’ of 40,000 Palestinians killed is ‘overwhelmingly’ the result of Israel’s failure to respect rules of war, says human rights chief UN officials warn that because so many victims could be buried under rubble, ‘this number may if anything be an undercount’ NEW YORK CITY: The UN’s high commissioner for human rights on Thursday lamented the loss of Palestinian lives in Gaza, after reports that the death toll in the conflict between Israel and Hamas has reached 40,000, most of them women and children. This “unimaginable” toll, reported by the Gazan Health Ministry, is “overwhelmingly” the result of the failure of the Israeli Defense Forces to respect the rules of war, Volker Turk added. “Today marks a grim milestone for the world,” he said. “On average, about 130 people have been killed every day in Gaza over the past 10 months. “The scale of the Israeli military’s destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and places of worship is deeply shocking.” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said UN officials are aware “this number is an approximation” and “given the large number, and disturbing number, of people who remain unaccounted for, who may be trapped or dead under the rubble, this number may if anything be an undercount.” The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Thursday that grieving Palestinian families have no time to mourn their dead, as survivors face “death, pain, hunger and thirst on a daily basis.” The hostilities and recurrent Israeli evacuation orders are driving a “seemingly endless cycle of displacement” that is making it difficult for people in Gaza to access the humanitarian assistance they need to survive. A humanitarian team that was able to reach two sites in Khan Younis on Thursday and talk with displaced families found that in addition to shortages of food and high prices for what little is available, a lack of cleaning and hygiene products is causing cases of skin infections to spread, with children particularly badly affected. Displaced families have to construct their own shelters “with whatever fabric, pieces of wood, cartons they find,” the team said. “Children are attacked by rodents and insects at night due to poor shelter conditions. And yet they might have to leave again and start it all over again.” Turk said: “International humanitarian law is very clear on the paramount importance of the protection of civilians, and civilian property and infrastructure.” His office has documented serious violations of these laws by both the Israeli military and armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas, he added. “As the world reflects on and considers its inability to prevent this carnage, I urge all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire, lay down their arms and stop the killing once and for all,” Turk said. “The hostages must be released. Palestinians arbitrarily detained must be freed. Israel’s illegal occupation must end and the internationally agreed two-state solution must become a reality.”