United Nations investigators on Thursday accused Israel of carrying out “relentless and deliberate attacks” on health facilities, medical workers and wounded civilians in the Gaza Strip and said the actions amounted to war crimes and extermination, a crime against humanity.
A UN report claims that the Israelis have imposed “collective punishment” on Palestinians in retaliation for the attacks that Hamas militants launched against Israel on October 7 a year ago from Gaza. The Israeli siege that followed, he claims, has prevented hospitals from receiving food, fuel, water and medical supplies, and has also limited the number of patients allowed to leave Gaza for treatment.
“Israel must immediately stop its wanton and unprecedented destruction of healthcare facilities in Gaza,” Navi Pillay, head of the commission that produced the report, said in a statement.
Ms. Pillay, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: “Israel has pursued a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a broader attack on Gaza, committing crimes of war and crimes against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks against medical personnel and facilities.”
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, rejected the accusations.
“This UN report does not correspond to reality and includes unfounded claims about Israel,” Danon said in a statement. He added that the commission should focus its investigation on the crimes committed by Hamas on October 7 and on the hostages taken that day who are still being held in Gaza.
The U.N. findings, which do not have the force of law, were published by a three-person panel called the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The UN Human Rights Council established the commission in May 2021 to investigate alleged violations of international law in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
In its 24-page report, the commission stated that “Israeli security forces have deliberately killed, injured, arrested, detained, ill-treated and tortured medical personnel and attacked medical vehicles, constituting the war crimes of intentional homicide and mistreatment and the crime against humanity of extermination.”
The report also states that Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees held in military camps and detention centers, including thousands of children, constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity. Allegations of rape and sexual violence are cited and Palestinians arbitrarily detained are said to be subjected to widespread abuse.
Israel did not cooperate with the commission for the report and investigators accused the Israelis of obstructing their investigation by denying them access to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
In the past, Israel has accused the commission of being biased against it, but relations between Israelis and the United Nations have deteriorated further over the past year of war. UN officials have strongly condemned Israel for its conduct in the military attack. Last week, when Israel held a commemorative service for the October 7 anniversary at UN headquarters in New York, it did not invite Secretary-General António Guterres or any other UN officials.
The same commission published an earlier report in June criticizing both Hamas and Israel, saying both had committed war crimes. It pointed to the October 7 attacks themselves, as well as the abuses of Israelis taken hostage in Gaza and Palestinian detainees held by Israel.
On Thursday, the commission reiterated some of those conclusions. He noted that Palestinian militants had committed war crimes by taking and mistreating hostages, both civilians and soldiers. The hostages, he said, were subjected to physical and psychological abuse, sexual violence, forced isolation and limited access to hygiene facilities, water and food.
The report also highlighted the death of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl that made headlines around the world.
The girl, Hind Rajab, died in January after her family tried to escape Gaza City and Israeli soldiers opened fire on their car, Palestinian emergency authorities said. The rest of her family died, according to authorities, and Hind and two paramedics who were trying to save her died during a rescue attempt.
Investigators claimed that the Israeli Army’s 162nd Division was responsible for the deaths, which also constituted a war crime.
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