The investigation found that Israel was committing “war crimes and crimes against humanity” during its deliberate attacks on hospitals.
United Nations investigators have accused Israel of deliberately targeting Gaza health facilities and killing medical staff during its war against the besieged enclave.
A statement by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, issued Thursday ahead of the release of a full report, accuses Israel of “committing war crimes and a crime against humanity” “extermination with incessant and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities” during his assault. on Gaza, which it launched after the Palestinian armed group Hamas carried out a deadly cross-border attack against southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
“Children have particularly suffered from these attacks, suffering directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system,” said Pillay, whose report will be presented to the United Nations General Assembly on October 30.
The Israeli government has regularly stated that its attacks on hospitals and schools in Gaza targeted members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. Hamas has denied using these sites as command centers.
The UN investigation statement also accuses Israeli forces of deliberately killing and torturing medical personnel, targeting medical vehicles and preventing patients from leaving Gaza.
The commission of inquiry has a broad mandate to collect evidence and identify suspected perpetrators of international crimes committed in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. It bases its conclusions on a range of sources, including interviews with victims and witnesses, observations and satellite images.
The COI has previously alleged that Israel and Hamas committed war crimes from the early stages of the Gaza war, and that Israel’s actions also constituted crimes against humanity due to the immense civilian casualties. The term is reserved for the most serious international crimes knowingly committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians.
Children suffer “the brunt” of attacks
Pillay called on Israel to “immediately stop” its “wanton destruction of health facilities in Gaza.”
“Children, in particular, have been hardest hit by these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system,” Pillay added.
The report mentions the death of a six-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who died with her cousins, aunt and uncle, after begging for help for hours.
The COI called Rajab’s death “one of the most egregious cases” of Israeli attacks on the health system.
“Systemic abuse” of prisoners
In Israeli military camps and detention centers, the report found that thousands of Palestinians were subjected to “widespread and systemic abuse, physical and psychological violence, and sexual and gender-based violence.”
He added that male detainees had been subjected to rape and attacks on their sexual organs.
The COI said the “institutional mistreatment” of Palestinians was directly ordered by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The statement also revealed that many Israeli captives held in Gaza were subjected to “physical pain and severe mental suffering” and called for the immediate and unconditional release of those held in the enclave.
Israel did not cooperate with the investigation after claiming it had an “anti-Israeli” bias.
