A top United Nations human rights expert has called for Israel to lose its seat on the international body over a “criminal attack” on the institution’s Palestinian base, according to the Independent.

Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, tweeted that it was “time to unseat Israel from the UN”, in response to Israel’s bombing of UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza.

UNRWA is the main UN agency in Palestine and supports the employment, health and education of people living in the territory.

Earlier this week, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner-general, shared photographs of its “flattened” Gaza headquarters on X. He said: “Another episode in the blatant disregard of international humanitarian law.

“United Nations facilities must be protected at all times. They must never be used for military or fighting purposes.”

The agency itself responded to his post saying that its headquarters had been “completely destroyed”.