United Nations experts express concern over reports of alleged human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank.
UN experts have expressed concern over allegations of human rights violations against Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 7.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement on Monday that it had received reports that Palestinian women and girls had “been arbitrarily executed in Gaza, often with members of their families, including their children.
The UN experts said they were “shocked by reports of deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killings of Palestinian women and children in places where they were seeking refuge or while fleeing.” Some of them were reportedly holding pieces of white cloth when they were killed by the Israeli army or its affiliated forces. »
Israel launched an attack on Gaza after the Palestinian group Hamas carried out an attack on Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people, according to an Tel Aviv Tribune tally based on official Israeli figures. Around 250 other people were captured and taken to Gaza as hostages.
Israel responded with a devastating bombing and ground invasion that displaced more than 80 percent of Gaza’s population and reduced much of the territory to rubble. More than 29,000 people were killed in the Israeli attack, according to Palestinian authorities.
In the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israeli forces have intensified their raids since October 7, killing hundreds of Palestinians and arresting thousands more.
UN experts have expressed concern over the arbitrary detention of hundreds of Palestinian women and girls, including human rights defenders, journalists and aid workers in Gaza and the West Bank.
Many were allegedly subjected to inhumane treatment, deprived of menstrual pads, food and medicine, and were also severely beaten, OHCHR said. On at least one occasion, Palestinian women detained in Gaza were reportedly locked in a cage, in the rain and cold, without food.
“We are particularly distressed by reports that Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped and searched by male Israeli army officers . At least two Palestinian detainees were allegedly raped while others were threatened with rape and sexual violence,” the experts said.
They noted that photos of women detained in degrading circumstances were also allegedly taken by the Israeli military and posted online.
An unknown number of Palestinian women and children, including girls, are believed to have disappeared after contact with the Israeli army in Gaza, experts said.
“There are disturbing reports of at least one little girl forcibly transferred by the Israeli army to Israel, and of children separated from their parents, whose whereabouts are unknown,” they said.
They called for an independent, impartial and effective investigation into these allegations and for cooperation from Israel.
“Taken together, these alleged acts could constitute serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and constitute serious crimes under international criminal law that could be prosecuted under the Rome Statute” , said the experts.
“Those responsible for these apparent crimes must be held accountable and the victims and their families are entitled to reparation and justice. »