The top UN human rights official called today for "credible and independent" investigations into any violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict which may constitute war crimes.
Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, also said that UN human rights monitors must be deployed in Israel as well as Gaza and the West Bank to document violations.
"The vicious cycle of provocation and retribution must be brought to an end," she said.
Scores of people, including children, had been killed or wounded in "Israel's totally unacceptable strikes" against clearly marked UN facilities sheltering Gaza civilians, she said. Harm to civilians caused by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel was also "unacceptable".
Ms Pillay was addressing a special session of the UN Human Rights Council a day after the Security Council adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the 14-day-old conflict and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
"Accountability must be ensured for violations of international law. As a first step, credible, independent and transparent investigations must be carried out to identify violations and establish responsibilities," she said.
"Violations of international humanitarian law may constitute war crimes for which individual criminal responsibility may be invoked," said Pillay, a former International Criminal Court judge from South Africa.
Pakistan's ambassador Zamir Akram, speaking on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), denounced Israel's "unrestrained use of force", killing of innocent civilians and violation of UN safe havens.
"In their totality these constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity," he declared.
The offensive against Gaza has solid support among Israeli voters who go to the polls in a month. Most back prime minister Ehud Olmert's aim of ending years of rocket fire into Israel by Hamas guerrillas that have killed 22 people since 2000.
Aharon Leshno-Yaar, Israel's ambassador in Geneva, said its military campaign was directed at Hamas targets engaged in launching rockets into southern Israel, and not at Palestinian civilians. The invasion was a necessary measure "in line with Israel's legitimate right of self-defence and its responsibility to protect its civilians from the scourge of terror", he said.
The United Nations said today that 30 Palestinians were killed in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in central Gaza earlier this week when the Israeli army sheltered 110 civilians in a house which was later hit by shells.
Ibrahim Mohammad Khraishi, ambassador of the Palestinian observer mission to the UN in Geneva, denounced "a new catastrophe at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces".
"There are entire families that were liquidated," he said.
The Geneva forum was expected to adopt a draft resolution censuring Israel at the talks, which may continue into Monday.
The emergency session was called at the request of Islamic and developing countries backed by Russia, China and Cuba. The United States has virtually stopped taking part in the Council, which it says has lost credibility.
The White House said today it was "very concerned" about the humanitarian situation and the civilian lives
being lost in Gaza.
But White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said, "This situation will not improve until Hamas stops lobbing rockets into Israel."
"We are very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and have expressed that concern throughout this crisis," Stanzel said. He said president George Bush had expressed his concern to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.
Reuters