Israel’s parliament passed a law establishing the tribunal, with the authority to hand down the death penalty, late on Monday.

The special court is set to try attackers captured during or after the Hamas-led onslaught. It will also try those suspected of holding or abusing hostages in Gaza.

According to Israeli media, around 400 suspects are expected to stand trial before the court.

“There must be full accountability for these horrific attacks, but this cannot be achieved through trials that fall short of international standards,” Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

“This law must be overturned.

“This law will inevitably institutionalise one-sided justice and discrimination against Palestinians, which cannot be in anyone’s interest and runs counter to international human rights law.”

In a statement sent to AFP, Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva said Turk’s office should concentrate on categorising Hamas as a terrorist group and “cease blaming Israel for seeking justice for victims”.

The mission said Israel was using a military court because of the “nature and magnitude of the offences” and the volume of evidence.

“The law does not alter substantive criminal law, create new offences or penalties, establish retroactive criminal liability, or impose a mandatory death sentence”, the mission said.

Hamas’s attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data, making it the deadliest day in Israel’s history.

Militants also took 251 people hostage, including 44 who were already dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has devastated the Gaza Strip and killed more than 72,000 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.