6/19/2024–|Last updated: 6/19/202405:02 PM (Mecca time)
Navi Pillay, head of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry into crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories, said that Israel is responsible for “war crimes, crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations” in the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Pillay added – in a meeting on the committee’s report on the sidelines of the 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva – that Israel is also responsible for killings, forced displacement, starvation, and sexual violence against Palestinians.
She pointed out that the Israeli army deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians in densely populated areas, prevented them from reaching basic living materials and used them as a tool of war.
The UN official confirmed that the number of civilian casualties in Gaza and the massive destruction of infrastructure “are the result of an intentional policy pursued by Israel.”
Obstructing the investigation
On the other hand, Pillay indicated that the committee’s report represents the United Nations and focuses on the events of last October 7 and beyond, noting that the Israeli authorities obstructed the investigation and prevented the committee’s representatives from reaching Gaza and the West Bank, making it an “incomplete” report.
It also said that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and armed Palestinian factions were also responsible for “war crimes deliberately directed against civilians” during the October 7 attack.
She added, “We will continue our work, and the investigation is not finished, and there are violations that occur every day,” stressing that the International Criminal Court will rely on the report.
Regarding children, the UN official confirmed that Israel killed and disabled tens of thousands of children in Gaza.
She added, “It is also possible that thousands of children are under the rubble” as a result of the raids carried out by the Israeli army on Gaza, noting that the Israeli war has seriously affected the infrastructure necessary for the well-being of children, including hospitals, schools, and basic services.
It is noteworthy that since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which left more than 122,000 Palestinians martyred and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of dozens, most of them children.
Israel also continues a daily escalation of incursions, raids and arrests throughout the occupied West Bank, ignoring international calls to stop the war and the ongoing aggression against the Palestinians.
