UN investigators have stated that Israel is intentionally targeting healthcare facilities and inflicting death and torture upon medical personnel in Gaza, labeling the actions as “crimes against humanity.”
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry declared in a statement, “Israel has enacted a systematic policy aimed at dismantling Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a larger offensive on Gaza.”
The commission asserted that the country is “engaging in war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination through ongoing and intentional assaults on medical personnel and establishments.”
This three-member commission, which was set up by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021 to probe alleged violations of international law in Israel and the Palestinian territories, released its second report since the Hamas attack on October 7 last year, which ignited the ongoing conflict.
Israel, in response, has accused the commission of “systematic anti-Israeli bias” and has categorically dismissed the conclusions of its June report, which also claimed that Israel had committed crimes against humanity, including “extermination” in Gaza.
‘Deliberate destruction of healthcare’
“Israel must immediately halt its unprecedented and deliberate destruction of healthcare infrastructure in Gaza,” stated commission chair Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief, in the announcement.
She emphasized that by doing so, “Israel is infringing upon the right to health itself, leading to significant long-term adverse impacts on the civilian population.”
The report indicated that Israeli defense forces had “intentionally killed, detained, and tortured medical personnel while targeting medical vehicles” in Gaza and had restricted permits for individuals to leave the territory for medical care.
Such actions are considered numerous war crimes and “the crime against humanity of extermination,” according to the commission.
The report noted that Israel’s actions have resulted in “immeasurable suffering” among child patients and are “leading to the devastation of generations of Palestinian children and possibly the Palestinian people as a whole.”
Hind Rajab reached out to the Palestinian Red Crescent, urgently requesting rescue, after her family’s vehicle came under fire.
The report flagged the case of Hind Rajab’s death in January as “one of the most shocking instances.”
The young girl called the Palestinian Red Crescent, desperately seeking help after her family’s car was fired upon in Gaza City.
Her body was later retrieved along with that of six relatives and two Red Crescent rescue workers dispatched to locate her.
The commission concluded that the Israeli army’s 162nd Division was accountable for the fatalities, which constitute war crimes.
‘Systematic abuse’ in detention
The report scrutinized the treatment of Palestinians held in Israeli military custody and detention centers.
It revealed that thousands of detainees, including minors, have experienced “widespread and systematic abuse, physical and psychological violence, as well as sexual and gender-based violence.”
This constitutes “the war crime and crime against humanity of torture and the war crime of rape and other forms of sexual violence,” noted the investigators.
Male detainees faced incidents of rape and assaults on their sexual organs, they reported.
Deaths of detainees due to abuse or neglect also constitute war crimes, according to the commission.
The report observed that the “institutionalized mistreatment of Palestinian detainees” occurred “under direct orders” from National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, aggravated by statements from the Israeli government “inciting violence and retaliation.”
Ms. Pillay remarked that the “horrific acts of abuse” committed against detainees necessitated accountability and reparations.
Abuse of hostagesTurning towards the Israeli and other hostages held in Gaza by Palestinian armed groups, the report found that many have endured “physical pain and extreme mental anguish,” including violence, abuse, sexual violence, humiliation, and restricted access to food and water.
The commission stated, “Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have committed the war crimes of torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, and the crimes against humanity of enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts resulting in significant suffering or serious injury.”
Ms. Pillay called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
Following last year’s October 7 attack by Hamas militants, which caused the deaths of 1,206 individuals, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli official numbers that include hostages who died in captivity, Israel launched an invasion of Gaza.
The resultant Israeli offensive has led to the death of over 42,000 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled territory’s health ministry, which the UN has deemed reliable.
