GENEVA, March 6: Muslim countries called upon the top UN rights body on Thursday to condemn Israel’s recent military strikes in Gaza.

A proposal put forward by Pakistan labelled Israeli incursions into the Palestinian territory a ‘war crime’.

The draft resolution, supported by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, expressed its “shock at the Israeli bombardment of Palestinian homes ... and the ... collective punishment against the civilian population, which constitute a war crime.”

It also called for Palestinian militants to stop firing rockets into Israel.

Over 120 Palestinians, many of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli military attacks on Gaza over the past week. Four Israelis have been killed over the same period.

Israel’s ambassador Itzhak Levanon told the UN Human Rights Council at a debate on Gaza on Thursday that the accusations levelled against his country were “exaggerations, distortions and inaccuracies.” —AP