GENEVA

The UN human rights chief on Monday said ending the war in Gaza and averting a full-blown regional conflict is an "absolute and urgent priority."

Volker Turk's remarks came at the opening session of the 57th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

"Equally, the wider situation of illegality across the Occupied Palestinian Territory deriving from Israel's policies and practices, as so clearly spelt out by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion in July, must be comprehensively addressed," Turk said.

"States must not and cannot accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation," he urged.

Stressing that Palestinians struggle to survive each day, he said nearly 1.9 million people have been forcibly displaced across the strip, many multiple times.

"While the actual number is likely higher, almost 10,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons or ad hoc military facilities, many arbitrarily, with over 50 people having died due to inhumane conditions and ill-treatment," he said, adding that 101 Israeli hostages are still believed to be held in Gaza.

He warned that "deadly and destructive" operations in the West Bank are at a scale "not witnessed in the last two decades," and they are "worsening a calamitous situation" which is already aggravated by settler violence.

Israel has continued a devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that claimed 1,200 lives and around 250 others were taken as hostages.

Nearly 41,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins and most of the population is homeless and in need of aid.