LONDON 

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard on Friday called on Israel to respect international law, saying that the situation in Gaza is “catastrophic.”

The minister’s remarks came following a UN report which confirmed that 70% of the fatalities it has verified in Gaza are women and children.

The UN Human Rights Office condemned what it called “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”

“70 percent of those killed in Gaza are women and children, a UN report shows.

Stenergard said on X: “The situation for the civilian population in Gaza is inhumane and tens of thousands of people have lost their lives, among them thousands of children.”

The humanitarian situation in Gaza “is catastrophic and the human suffering of the civilian population is immense,” she added.

“Sweden's stance is clear – we support Israel's right to defend itself and this self-evident right must just as obviously be exercised in accordance with international law,” the minister said.

Since Israel launched war on Gaza on Oct. 7, more than 43,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 102,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

More than a year into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide against Palestinians at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).