GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. Human Rights Chief called on Israel to immediately stop its ground assault on Gaza City that got underway on Tuesday, saying that evidence was mounting of war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly more.

"I can only think of what it means for women, for malnourished children, for people with disabilities, if they are again attacked in this way. And I have to say the only response to this is: stop the carnage," High Commissioner Volker Turk told reporters in Geneva.

GENEVA (Reuters) -An official of the United Nations' children's agency said on Tuesday it was "inhumane" to expect hundreds of thousands of children to leave Gaza City as camps further south were unsafe, overcrowded and ill-equipped to receive them.

Israel announced on Tuesday the start of its long-awaited ground operation into Gaza City, the main urban centre in the enclave where Israel has ordered residents to flee. So far, more than 140,000 have already fled south from Gaza City since August 14, U.N. data shows, of a population of around 1 million people.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA (Reuters) -Israel undermined regional peace and stability in its attack last week on Hamas leaders who had been in Qatar to negotiate a ceasefire, the United Nations rights chief said during an urgent debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday.

SOFIA (Reuters) -Police in Bulgaria have arrested the Russian owner of a ship that brought the explosive material that detonated at Beirut port in August 2020, killing more than 200 people, Bulgarian media reported on Tuesday.

Igor Grechushkin, a Russian businessman based in Cyprus, was detained for possible extradition to Lebanon, where he is wanted for his role in the blast, Bulgarian National Radio and other outlets reported.

A shipowner wanted over a 2020 blast at Beirut port that killed more than 220 people has been arrested in Bulgaria, officials said Tuesday.

The August 4, 2020 disaster was one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions, ravaging swathes of the Lebanese capital and injuring more than 6,500 people.

Authorities have said the blast was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had been stored haphazardly for years after arriving by ship, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.

STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) -An Afghan man with suspected Islamist motives was sentenced to life in prison by a German court on Tuesday for a knife attack that killed a police officer and injured five others at an anti-Islam rally last year.

The verdict comes at a time of heated debate about immigration and security in Germany, and a strong surge in support for the country's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

DUBAI (Reuters) -Israel has launched a 'significant' operation in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday during a testimony in court.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer in Jerusalem and Tala Ramadan in Dubai.)

By Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) -A United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded on Tuesday that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had incited these acts.

It cites examples of the scale of the killings, aid blockages, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic to back up its genocide finding, adding its voice to rights groups and others that have reached the same conclusion.

United Nations investigators on Tuesday accused Israel of committing "genocide" in Gaza in a bid to "destroy the Palestinians", blaming Israel's prime minister and other top officials for incitement.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not speak on behalf of the world body and has faced harsh Israeli criticism, found that "genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur", commission chief Navi Pillay told AFP.

"The responsibility lies with the State of Israel."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged strong support for Qatar's security on a lightning visit on Tuesday, as anger boils in the Gulf ally over last week's Israeli attack on Hamas negotiators.

On a hastily arranged stop in Doha after a visit to Israel, Rubio shook hands with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in his office before entering closed door talks that lasted just under an hour.

He flew out straight after the meeting.