UN accuses Israel of war crimes over attacks on Gaza hospitals

A United Nations commission of inquiry has accused Israel of carrying out a “concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system” during its ongoing war with Hamas.

The commission said Israeli attacks on Gaza’s healthcare facilities and Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees amounted to war crimes, as well as the crime against humanity of “extermination”.

Hamas and other Palestinian groups are also accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their treatment of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Israel is yet to comment, but has long accused the UN of bias and dismissed previous critical reports.

The report, which will be presented to the UN General Assembly on 30 October, was led by Navi Pillay, the South African former UN human rights chief.

Israeli security forces have “deliberately killed, detained and tortured medical personnel”, the report said, while children have “borne the brunt” of “the collapse of the health system”.

The commission cites the case of five-year-old Hind Rajab, whose car was hit as she and her family tried to flee bombing. Several family members were killed, but Hind managed to phone the Palestinian Red Crescent for help. The ambulance trying to reach her was also shelled, and Hind, her family, and the ambulance crew all died.

The commission says the attacks on the healthcare system have “inflicted conditions of life resulting in the destruction of generations of Palestinian children and, potentially, the Palestinian people as a group”.

The report alleges Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, have subjected Israeli hostages to “physical violence, abuse, sexual violence, forced isolation, limited access to hygiene facilities, water and food, threats and humiliation”.

It calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining hostages.

The report also expresses concern about the treatment of thousands of Palestinian detainees, some of them children.

Israeli security forces have subjected them to systematic abuse, including torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, the reports alleges.

It directly names Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying the abuse took place “under direct orders” from him.

The report contains detailed evidence and adds to growing concerns, reflected in a case at the International Court of Justice and investigations by the International Criminal Court, at the conduct of the widening war in the Middle East.

The war began after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 42,060 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.