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"It is essential to set up an international committee to carry out investigations into all (crime) allegations in relation to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. Every innocent life lost deserves to be the subject of transparent and independent investigations," Algeria's UN permanent representative, Amar Bendjama, said in New York.

In an address at a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting dedicated to the situation in the Middle East, Bendjama said Algeria demands that the authors of the crimes committed in Gaza, during the Zionist aggression, "whoever they may be, must be held to account."

"For Algeria, there should not be a double standard. Every innocent life should be protected. This principle is at the core of the international humanitarian law that protects civilians, especially women and children during armed conflicts."

"We believe in justice that knows no borders. No one is above the law and no one should enjoy impunity," he said.

"Nearly 18,000 children have been killed in Gaza. Don't they deserve an independent investigation and accountability (for the crimes committed against them)?"

The Algerian diplomat added that 8000 innocent women, 1000 health workers and over 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza, wondering, once again, whether all these victims deserved to be the subject of an international enquiry.

" Accountability and justice are essential to prevent such horrors from happening again. To those who believe that the ceasefire has put an end to the suffering of the population of Gaza, I say 'you are wrong'," Amar Bendjama said, recalling the six new-born babies who froze to death in a hospital in Gaza.

"It's cruel. It's unacceptable," he stressed.

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