Maldives leader says Israel must be held to account for ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Mohamed Muizzu also tells the UNGA that Israel is targeting journalists to cover up its ‘crimes’ in Gaza and Lebanon.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has told the United Nations that Israel must be held accountable for the crimes it is committing in Gaza, including “genocide”, as well as its attacks on journalists and other violations of international law.

“The ongoing massacre, the genocide by Israel in Gaza is a travesty of justice and the international system,” the leader of the Indian Ocean archipelago told the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

He said Israel’s killing of civilians and its “repeated destruction” of homes, hospitals, and schools in Gaza was now being extended to Lebanon.

On Tuesday, Israel and Hezbollah again traded cross-border fire, a day after the Israeli military launched a wave of air attacks into Lebanon that have killed at least 569 people so far.

Israel’s new offensive against Hezbollah has stoked fears that nearly a year of conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will explode into a larger regional conflagration.

The Israeli military is shifting its focus from Gaza to the northern frontier, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.

Israel has made a war priority of securing its northern border and allowing for the return of displaced residents. This has set the stage for a long conflict, while Hezbollah has said it will not back down until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

Muizzu also said Israel was attempting to cover up its crimes by targeting Palestinian and Lebanese journalists, including by closing Al Jazeera bureaus in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

“How can we interpret this as anything other than brutal