Israel carried out « genocidal acts » against Palestinians by systematically destroying women’s health facilities during the Gaza conflict and used sexual violence as a war strategy, according to the United Nations experts in a new report.
In its report published on Thursday, the independent commission independent of the United Nations research on the occupied Palestinian territory, including Eastern Jerusalem, and Israel said that the use of heavy explosives in civilian areas and Israeli attacks in hospitals and health facilities.
He said that all three caused « disproportionate violence against women and children. »
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the report’s findings, saying that they were biased and anti -Semitic.
« Instead of focusing on crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Hamas terrorist organization … The United Nations decide to attack the state of Israel with false accusations, » a statement said.
Israel disassociated with the Human Rights Council in February.
« The Israeli authorities have partly destroyed the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group, including to impose measures aimed at preventing births, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Statute of Rome and the Convention of Genocide, » said the United Nations Commission report.
These actions, in addition to an increase in maternity deaths due to restricted access to medical supplies, led to the crime against humanity of extermination, according to the commission.
The report accused Israel’s security forces of using forced public displacement and sexual assault as part of their standard operating procedures to punish Palestinians after Hamas -led attacks in southern Israel in October 2023.
According to Gaza Health officials, the resulting war in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians.
IDF says policies « prohibit this misconduct »
The Commission also accused the Israeli security forces of rape and sexual violence against Palestinian detainees. Israel denies any systematic abuse of prisoners and says he measures when there are violations.
Israel has rejected the allegations.
« The FID (Israeli defense force) has specific directives … and policies that unequivocally prohibit this misconduct, » the UN’s permanent mission in Geneva responded in a statement, adding that its review processes are in accordance with international rules.
A previous report published by the Commission in June 2024 accused Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups of serious rape violations in the 2023 attacks, which killed 1,200 people and gave rise to 251 hostages, according to Israelis.
In March last year, a team of United Nations experts said that there was « reasonable motifs to believe » sexual violence, including rape, occurred in various places during the assault of the militant group.
The commission is led by the former United Nations Human Rights Chief, Navi Pillay. Their findings can be used as evidence for the International Criminal Court or for other bodies that seek to pursue war crimes.
Palestinian officials say that the people of Gaza could be with clean drinking water. After Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza this weekend, a desalination plant of Deir al-Balah has been around 30 percent of the capacity of the backup generators.
Israel is part of the Convention on Genocide and was ordered in January 2024 by the International Court of Justice to take action to avoid genocide acts during the war against Hamas.
It is not part of the Statute of Rome, which gives to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to govern individual criminal cases that involve genocide and crimes against humanity.
South -Africa has presented a case of genocide against the actions of Israel in Gaza in the International Court of Justice.
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