UN rights chief hails chance to stop Gaza carnage 'once and for all'

US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan was a "vital opportunity" to stop bloodshed in the Palestinian territory "once and for all', UN rights chief Valker Turk said Saturday.

Trump has called on key US ally Israel to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas says it is ready to release all captives and start talks to end the nearly two-year war.

Turk hopes the momentum from the US president's peace plan will "pave the way for a permanent cessation of hostilities, followed by recovery and reconstruction his office said on X as it urged a resolution "in line with international human rights and humanitarian laws, and the much needed two state solution."

The World Health Organisation also welcomed the plan, particularly the prospect of reconstructing hospitals.

"In two years, we have never been closer to securing peace than now. We cannot miss this opportunity. Too many lives been lost and shattered," the UN health agency's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.