In a report released on Wednesday by the UN Commission of Inquiry that covers the period from October 7 to the end of 2023, the commission found that Israel has committed a large range of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The crimes against humanity that investigators found Israel has committed include the crime of extermination, which is the intentional mass killing of an entire group of people, “including by inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population.”
The report also lists gender persecution as a crime against humanity, with Israel Defense Forces creating a “culture that allowed – and may have even encouraged – [soldiers] to humiliate and degrade Palestinians on the basis of gender.”
In terms of war crimes and international law violations, the commission concludes that Israel has directly targeted civilians and civilian objects and meted out collective punishment against Palestinians; has been using starvation as a weapon of war; has forcibly displaced at least 1.7 million people in Gaza; has systematically committed sexual violence against Palestinians; and has seen its senior officials inciting numerous calls to extinguish Palestinian civilians and life in Gaza.
“[B]oth the 7 October attack in Israel and Israel’s subsequent military operation in Gaza should not be seen in isolation. The only way to stop the recurring cycles of violence, including aggression and retribution by both sides, is to ensure strict adherence to international law,” the report read. “That includes ending the unlawful Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, discrimination, oppression and the denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and guaranteeing peace and security for Jews and Palestinians.”
