Geneva, June 12 (EFE).- A United Nations inquiry has found that Israel committed “war crimes” in Gaza, causing intentional civilian deaths and widespread destruction of infrastructure in the besieged Palestinian strip.
The report, the UN’s first in-depth investigation of the events on and since Oct. 7 last year, is based on interviews with victims and witnesses.
Prepared by the UN’s International and Independent Commission of Inquiry for Palestine, the report, released on Tuesday, says that Israel, Hamas, and other Palestinian armed groups have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The commission, chaired by veteran South African jurist Navi Pillay, indicts the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for giving security forces “blanket authorisation to target civilian locations widely and indiscriminately in the Gaza Strip.”
The commission found that “war crimes,” including “starvation as a method of warfare,” “murder,” “attacks againstcivilians and civilian objects,” “forcible transfer,” “sexual violence,” and “torture or inhuman treatment, were committed.”
Dahiya Doctrine: No Distinction
The Israeli bombardment strategy in the Gaza Strip appears consistent with the so-called “Dahya doctrine,” the report says, referencing an Israeli military campaign on a Hezbollah-controlled Beirut neighborhood that was devastated in 2006.
“The commission investigated several large-scale attacks on civilian targets in the Gaza Strip which are indicative of the use of this doctrine and documented tens of other attacks, including on aid organizations, convoys and refuge sites,” the report says.
“In many of these cases, the commission could not identify military targets as the focus of the attacks. Even when military targets were allegedly present, attacks lacked distinction, proportionality and precautions, resulting in thousands killed and injured and widespread destruction of entire neighborhoods.”
The report, spanning more than 200 pages, details that Israeli forces “killed civilians who posed no threat, including holding white flags.”
“The commission considers that this…clearly indicate the permissive practice of shooting to kill without first ascertaining who the targets are and whether they pose a threat.”
It provides specifics on both the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent military response.
The report denounces a “complete siege… no electricity, no water, no food, no fuel” by Israel in Gaza, framed by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “as a measure of retribution…fighting human animals, and act accordingly.”
The report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on June 19.
“It is imperative that all those who have committed crimes be held accountable,” said commission chair Pillay. “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.”
Hamas committed war crimes too
The report also closely examines the October 7 attacks by Palestinian armed groups, detailing abuses that could also constitute “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity,” carried out in a coordinated manner by more than 1,000 Palestinian fighters.
In these attacks, the report details, more than 1,200 people were killed, including 809 civilians, including 280 women, 40 children, and 25 elderly people over 80 years old.
The document recounts cases such as “a 79-year-old woman and her 12-year-old autistic granddaughter from Nir Oz were killed close to the perimeter fence with Gaza, allegedly because they were slowing down the retreat of their captors.”
In another case, a 70-year-old woman and her 73-year-old husband were attacked while out for a walk in the kibbutz. The woman was killed, while her partner was abducted to Gaza where he died in captivity.
At the Nova music festival, the report indicates, 364 attendees were killed by Palestinian armed groups, some while attempting to escape or hide in public restrooms, vehicles, and garbage containers.
These attacks included repeated acts of sexual violence, such as the humiliation of women “displayed as trophies,” although it has not been confirmed whether rapes occurred as previously reported.
The report concludes that both the Oct.7 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,” it says.
It 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. EFE
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