UN Rights Office Warns of Gaza Escalation, West Bank Annexation

A tent city west of Gaza City.

A senior official from the UN human rights office (OHCHR) expressed deep concern on Thursday over intensifying Israeli military operations in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, and warned against any attempts to annex parts of the West Bank.

Ajith Sunghay, Head of OHCHR’s Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), told UN News that the escalation has caused extensive destruction to residential buildings in southern North Gaza governorate and northeastern Gaza City.

This has led to further civilian casualties and forced displacement. Local health authorities reported 816 Palestinian deaths between 26 August and 1 September—nearly double the number of fatalities compared to the previous week.

Roughly one million Palestinians remain in northern Gaza, he said, being pushed into increasingly smaller areas in the west of the enclave.

“Many are unable to relocate—there are no safe areas, and movement is dangerous. Others remain trapped in eastern Gaza City, with humanitarian workers unable to reach them,” he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli military attacks on people seeking aid continued across the Gaza Strip, leaving humanitarians struggling to deliver essential supplies. OHCHR has recorded over 2,146 deaths near sites run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began operations in late May, and along convoy routes.

Sunghay also highlighted reports of Israeli government plans to “extend sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank or effectively annex parts of it.

He recalled that last July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stated that Israel has already incorporated large parts of the OPT—particularly East Jerusalem and Area C, where most settlements are located—concluding that this amounts to annexation.

“Israel has done so, and continues doing so, through unabated settlement construction, related infrastructure, and the forcible transfer of thousands of Palestinians from large swathes of the West Bank controlled by Israeli forces and settlers,” he said.

He warned that any formal extension of sovereignty over the West Bank would have catastrophic consequences for Palestinians, affecting both their right to self-determination and daily life.

“It would facilitate massive expansion of settlements, legalization of existing outposts, and allow Israel to take full control of natural resources without restriction. Annexation would place Palestinians at imminent risk of expulsion through increased settler violence, loss of political rights, expropriation of land, and mass home demolitions,” he added.