A United Nations-backed investigation has concluded that war crimes were committed by Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian groups during the now eight-month conflict.
The independent commission of inquiry’s report, released Wednesday, covers the period from the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 and the Israeli war on Gaza that followed, the investigation period ending December 31, 2023.
Israel is still waging its brutal war against Gaza.
The report is unflinching and explicit, including details of sexual violence, torture and mutilation perpetrated on unarmed citizens.
This is what he says:
Who does the report accuse, Israel or Palestinian groups?
In both cases, he blames both Israel and Palestinian groups.
It revealed that Palestinian fighters led by Hamas who attacked Israel on October 7 had committed war crimes, failing to distinguish between Israeli fighters and non-combatants during their attack.
It also found that Israel and its army are committing “crimes against humanity” in Gaza, including “extermination; killings, gender-based persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys; forced transfer; and torture and inhuman and cruel treatment.”
Israel has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians in Gaza in an attack that shows no signs of stopping.
The report also reveals an explosion of violence across the occupied West Bank since October 7 and efforts by the Israeli government to arm and mobilize an already radicalized settler movement.
What did Palestinian groups do on October 7?
According to the report, Hamas-led fighters, including members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have carried out waves of attacks against Israeli civilians, including sexual and gender-based violence as well as killings and torture.
Children, adolescents and the elderly were also targeted. The report mentions “desecration of corpses by burning, mutilation and decapitation” as well as “sexualized desecration of the corpses of men and women”.
Investigators were unable to determine whether rape had occurred during the attack due to their inability to access and interview witnesses and victims.
So Israel was not at all at fault on October 7?
Israel’s response to the attack was also criticized, with the report revealing that the Israeli military used its Hannibal directive – a directive that allows the army to do anything to stop the capture of Israelis, even kill them.
The Israeli army killed at least 14 Israeli civilians because of this directive, according to the report.
What has Israel done in Gaza?
Israel initially said it would attack Gaza to recover captives taken there and destroy Hamas’ ability to govern.
Instead, a total siege was quickly imposed on the enclave as collective punishment against those whom Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called “human animals,” according to the report.
“Given Israel’s repeated assertion that the militants are ‘integrated’ into the civilian population, the Commission considers these statements to indicate that the Israeli government has given (Israeli security forces) general authorization to widely and indiscriminately target civilian sites in the Gaza Strip. continued.
The report also finds that widespread sexual and gender-based violence, as well as torture, have all been features of the Israeli response.
Men and women were repeatedly forced to undress in public, with the men’s and boys’ experiences filmed and published online, with the Commission concluding that “forced public undressing, nudity and other types of “Abuses by Israeli military personnel were either ordered or tolerated.”
What Israel presented as its efforts to “minimize civilian casualties” was also heavily criticized.
The instructions given to civilians on how to reach the “humanitarian zones” were unclear and there was insufficient time as thousands of hungry, injured and elderly people were forced to walk their entire lives from one place to another. other, trying to follow unclear Israeli calculations.
Evacuation routes were chaotic, with evacuees being stopped and harassed at checkpoints by members of the Israeli army.
There are 1.7 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza.
How easy have the Commission’s attempts to investigate this matter been?
According to the report, requests for information were sent to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Authority responded positively and provided the Commission with extensive comments on the content of the report.
The Israeli government was uncooperative and did not respond to six requests for information.
The Israeli government also blocked Commission investigators from accessing medical personnel in Israel.
What was the official reaction to this report?
Hamas’ military wing has rejected all accusations that its forces committed sexual violence against Israeli women on October 7.
Israel’s diplomatic mission to the UN in Geneva denied the accusations contained in the report in a social media post, saying the commission of inquiry “has once again proven that its actions are all in the service of of a narrow political agenda against Israel.
Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7 during a major Jewish holiday. Today, on the occasion of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, the Pillay Commission of Inquiry chooses to publish its latest biased reports, attacking Israel.
This decision reflects the systematic anti-Israeli policy… pic.twitter.com/s1bb7DSuvm
— Israel at the UN/Geneva🇮🇱🇺🇳 | #BringThemHome (@IsraelinGeneva) June 12, 2024
The Israeli government is considering taking action against UN agencies operating in Israel and the Palestinian territory, including the possible expulsion of their staff, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
It is not clear whether this is a response to Wednesday’s report, or to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ decision last week to add Israel to the list of countries and organizations that fail not to protect children in conflict.