The United Nations' top human rights body will hold a special session on Wednesday to consider a call by Arab and Muslim states for action against the "gross human rights violations" of Israel in Gaza.

The call for the meeting, the third special session held by the newly formed Human Rights Council, was backed by 24 of the Council's 47 member states, the United Nations said on Monday.

Arab and Muslim states said the meeting should "consider and take action on the gross human rights violations emanating from Israeli military incursions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the recent one in northern Gaza and the assault on Beit Hanun".

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Last week, 19 Palestinian civilians were killed in an artillery barrage fired at the two of Beit Hanun.

The Council replaced the discredited Human Rights Commission in May, but some rights activists are concerned that it is already becoming prone to the political confrontation that hobbled its predecessor.

At its second scheduled session in October, the Council failed to reach agreement on a resolution on the situation in the Sudanese region of Darfur, where tens of thousands of people have been killed in ethnic violence.

Its third two-week session is due to open on November 27.