The United Nations human rights office has demanded an independent investigation into claims that Israeli forces carried out the "summary execution" of at least 11 Palestinian men in Gaza, potentially constituting a war crime. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a statement on Wednesday urging Israeli authorities to promptly initiate a thorough and effective investigation into the allegations. If substantiated, the responsible individuals must be held accountable, and measures must be implemented to prevent future serious violations.

According to witnesses interviewed by Al Jazeera, the incident took place during a raid on Tuesday, where Israeli troops reportedly surrounded and raided a residential building in Gaza City's Remal neighborhood. The soldiers allegedly went from floor to floor, separating the men from the women and children, before shooting dead 11 men in front of their family members. The victims, in their 20s and 30s, were described by survivors.

One survivor recounted the attack, stating, "They saw us, men and their wives and children. My brother-in-law tried to speak and explain that all in the house are civilians, but they shot him dead." Witnesses reported that the Israeli soldiers forcibly entered every home, killed the men, and detained the women and children. The whereabouts of the detainees remain unknown.

Another witness explained, "The soldiers rounded up all the women in one room, then fired three mortar shells on us, then kept shooting their machine guns at us." The survivors detailed severe injuries, including broken bones and flesh wounds, inflicted upon the women and children. A wounded woman added, "My husband was executed in cold blood. My younger daughter was killed, and my son is blind. We were all hit by bullets or shrapnel."

Analyst Tamer Qarmout from the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies praised the UN's call for an investigation into what he labeled "unlawful killings." However, Qarmout emphasized that the main challenge lies in determining how these probes will be conducted. Currently, none of the entities capable of investigating alleged Israeli crimes against Palestinians have access to the Gaza Strip.

As of now, the Israeli military has not commented on the incident in question. The allegations of a potential war crime have sparked international concern, and the call for an independent inquiry serves to highlight the importance of accountability and justice in such cases. The OHCHR's statement underscores the urgent need to prevent similar serious violations from recurring in the future.