TEMPO.CO, Gaza – Navi Pillay, a top official at the UN Human Rights Council, said Israel’s military operation in Gaza can be categorized as a war crime. "There seems to be a strong possibility that international law has been violated in a manner that could amount to war crimes," said Pillay during an emergency meeting as quoted by BBC on Wednesday.

The UN Security Council on Monday held an emergency meeting where the UN condemned Israel’s atrocity in Gaza and urged both sides to restrain themselves.

In a conference in Doha, Qatar, last week, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon voiced the same statement. “Too many innocent people are dying…[and] living in constant fear,” he said.

Previously, 15 members of UN Security Council held a meeting last Friday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. However, the meeting failed to yield any solution. The conflict between Israel and Hamas, who controls Gaza, has escalated since July 8 and has gained international exposure.

The conflict started from the discovery of three dead Israeli teens followed by a killing and burning of a Palestinian teen. Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israel were countered with Israel’s air strikes in several regions in the Gaza Strip that killed almost 700 people.

ANINGTIAS JATMIKA | BBC