A United Nations commission of inquiry has accused Israel of carrying out a “coordinated policy of destroying Gaza’s health system” during its ongoing war with Hamas.
The committee said Israeli attacks on medical facilities in Gaza and Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees amounted to war crimes and the crime of “extermination” against humanity.
Hamas and other Palestinian groups have also been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity over their treatment of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has not yet commented but has long accused the United Nations of bias and dismissed previous critical reports.
The report will be presented to the UN General Assembly on October 30 and will be led by South Africa’s former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay.
The report stated that Israeli security forces “deliberately killed, detained and tortured medical personnel”, while children “bear the brunt” of the “collapse of the health system”.
The committee cited cases Hind Rajab, five years oldher car was hit as she and her family tried to escape the bombing. Several family members were killed, but Hind managed to call the Palestinian Red Crescent Society for help. The ambulance trying to get to her was also shelled, and Hind, her family and the ambulance crew were all killed.
The committee said attacks on the health care system “have caused the deterioration of living conditions, leading to the destruction of generations of Palestinian children and may lead to the destruction of the Palestinian people as a group”.
The report said Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, committed “physical violence, abuse, sexual violence, forced isolation, restrictions on sanitation, water and food, threats and humiliation” against Israeli hostages.
It called for the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining hostages.
The report also raised concerns about the treatment of thousands of Palestinian detainees, some of them children.
According to reports, Israeli security forces systematically abused them, including torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence.
It directly named Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gver, saying the abuses occurred under his “direct orders.”
The report contains detailed evidence and adds to growing concerns about the expanding war in the Middle East, which is reflected in an International Court of Justice case and an investigation by the International Criminal Court.
The war broke out on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
Since then, more than 42,060 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
