LONDON

Palestinian ambassador to Britain Husam Zomlot on Tuesday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to act "immediately and with responsibility" to investigate war crimes committed against Palestinians.

Speaking at a news conference in the British capital London, Zomlot, touching on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, said the health sector in one of the world's most densely populated areas "is absolutely collapsing."

He said that this is not a war against Hamas but the Palestinian people.

The bombing of civilian infrastructure, schools, medical centers, homes, and markets, and the prevention of water, food, fuel, electricity, and medicine from reaching Gaza has already taken a terrible toll, he added.

Zomlot also expressed his concern over the possibility of the expansion of the war in the region.

In response to a question by Anadolu on the recent remarks by the Israeli ambassador to the UK that "there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Zomlot said when 1 million people are asked to leave homes, without electricity, food, medicine, is it not a humanitarian crisis?

"When rockets and bombs are literally landing on their heads, families are being wiped out, is it not a humanitarian crisis?" he questioned.

The ambassador noted that he was "completely disheartened" over the media coverage of the conflict.

"Terminology is crucial," he said, adding that Israel, from the beginning, wanted to “link Palestinian people to Hamas, and then Hamas to ISIS.”

“That linkage is to justify the war and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians,” noted Zomlot.

In response to another question by Anadolu regarding the use of white phosphorus in Gaza which has been verified by Amnesty International on Friday, he said that disproportionate use of lethal bombs is a "war crime."

'War crimes'

Reminding that Palestine has acceded to the Rome Statute, Zomlot stressed that Palestine has also given full mandate many years ago to the ICC to investigate war crimes in the occupied territory of Palestine by all sides.

The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court.

"This is time for Karim Khan (prosecutor of the International Criminal Court) and the ICC to investigate the white phosphorus and crimes committed from all sides, and we shall accept full responsibility," he stressed.

The Palestinian ambassador also said that international actors, including the US and the UK, "should stop blocking the ICC" from doing its work.

Eleven days into the conflict with Palestinian group Hamas, Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over one million people displaced – almost half of Gaza's total population, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased violence by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.

According to official data from Gaza, nearly 3,000 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, while the death toll from Israeli attacks in the West Bank has reached 60.

At least 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the ongoing armed conflict.