The longer the war in the Gaza Strip lasts, the louder the accusation that Israel is committing genocide. UN investigators have been looking into war crimes in the bloody conflict.
According to a UN report, both Israel and armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip have committed war crimes since October 7, 2023. This is the conclusion of the commission of independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, which presented its report in Geneva on Wednesday. The UN Human Rights Office has also repeatedly spoken of war crimes on both sides.
The chair of the UN Human Rights Council Commission, Navi Pillay, called for an end to the attacks by Palestinian armed groups on Israel and the release of all hostages. The commission counts attacks on civilians, torture, inhuman and cruel treatment and hostage-taking as war crimes committed by the military wing of the Islamist Hamas and six other armed groups. “Taking hostages is a war crime,” said Pillay.
It called on Israel to end its military action in the Gaza Strip. The Commission counts Israel’s war crimes as including starvation of the population as a means of warfare, deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment.
Israel has responded to the terrorist attack from the coastal area on October 7, 2023 with a war against armed groups in the Gaza Strip. About 1,200 people in Israel were killed in the attack. Terrorists also kidnapped more than 250 people as hostages in the Gaza Strip. Some were released, others freed. Another 120 hostages remain in Hamas’s power, and it is feared that many are already dead. According to the Palestinian Health Authority, more than 37,000 people have been killed in the fighting in the Gaza Strip since October.
Commission criticizes Israel
“It is imperative that all those who committed crimes are held accountable,” Pillay continued. Israel has obstructed the work of the commission and has not prevented access to the occupied territories, it said. According to the UN interpretation, this also includes the Gaza Strip, while Israel believes that the area has not been occupied since the withdrawal of the Israeli military and settlers in 2005. The commission says it has evaluated thousands of verified reports, forensic analyses, satellite images and medical reports and spoken to victims and witnesses in Turkey and Egypt.
Israel rejected the report. The commission views the situation one-sidedly, said a statement from the Israeli embassy in Geneva. It ignores the fact that Hamas uses people as human shields and thus puts civilians in the line of fire. “Israel rejects the despicable and immoral accusations against the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces),” the statement continued.
Note: This post has been updated.
Source: Stern
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