UN human rights chief Volker Turk has condemned “the tirade of incendiary rhetoric being used in the Middle East war over the last couple of weeks by all parties, including the latest threats to annihilate a whole civilisation and to target civilian infrastructure”, Al Jazeera reports.

“This is sickening. Carrying through on such threats amounts to the most serious international crimes,” Turk has said in a statement, calling for an end to the spread of “fear and terror among civilians”.

“Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime. Anyone responsible for international crimes must be held to account by a competent court,” he adds.