A report by the United Nations human rights office, which accuses Israel Defense Forces of committing grave violations of international law in Gaza, many of which could amount to war crimes, has been met with a rebuke from Israel.
“The State of Israel categorically rejects the recent update report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation in the Gaza Strip,” said a statement issued by the Israeli mission in Geneva on Friday.
“OHCHR fails to accurately reflect the realities on the ground, and disregards the extensive role of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in deliberately causing civilian harm in Gaza,” it says.
The U.N. report details “the horrific reality” that has unfolded for the people of Israel and Gaza from November 2023 to April 2024, following the brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas militants in Israel, who killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
“I have repeatedly warned about the risk of atrocity crimes being committed,” Volker Türk, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement to coincide with the publication of the report Friday.
“The rules of war, in force now for 160 years, were designed to limit and prevent human suffering in times of armed conflict,” he said. “It seems inconceivable that the parties to the conflict refuse to apply universally accepted and binding norms developed to preserve the very bare minimum of humanity.”
While the report examines and documents breaches of international law committed by both parties to the conflict, it focuses largely on the many violations resulting from the punishing attacks inflicted by Israeli forces upon the Palestinian people and on the widescale destruction of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
According to the report, “Civilians, including children, women and men, have borne the brunt of the attacks, through the complete siege, and the various forms of continuing closure and blockade by the IDF of Gaza.”
It accuses the Israeli government of failing to ensure, and even blocking, entry of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave, of destroying civilian infrastructure, and of repeated mass displacement of the population.
The report says that has led to “unprecedented levels of killings, death, injury, starvation, illness, disease, displacement, detention and destruction.”
It finds Palestinian armed groups also have conducted hostilities in ways that have harmed civilians, noting the abuse of remaining Israeli hostages and projectiles that are indiscriminately fired into Israel.
“In many instances, the violations documented in this report by the parties could amount to war crimes,” it says. “If committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, further to a state or organizational policy, they may constitute crimes against humanity.”
The report expresses concern about the forcible transfer of Palestinians, attacks on so-called safe zones as well as on hospitals “in apparent systematic fashion.” It condemns the killings of medical staff, humanitarian workers, civil police and journalists and the reported use of white phosphorus munitions in densely populated areas.
“Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians is a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law — namely the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack,” said Türk. “Tragically these documented patterns of violations continue unabated, over one year after the start of the war.”
Speaking on a video link in Amman, Jordan, Ajith Sunghay, the head of the U.N. human rights office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told journalists in Geneva that his office continues to monitor “with grave concern” the situation in Gaza.
“Israel’s conduct of hostilities has destroyed Gaza civilian infrastructure, its homes, hospitals and schools, its electricity, water and sewage systems,” he said. “Within this dystopia of destruction and devastation, those alive are left injured, displaced and starving.
“We have been verifying the personal details of those killed in Gaza by strikes, shelling and other conduct of hostilities,” he added. “Of those fatalities, we have so far found close to 70% to be children and women, indicating a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality.”
Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 43,300 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
Because of a lack of access to the enclave, Sunghay said his sources in Gaza have been able to verify only about 10,000 fatalities, including 4,700 children. He said that the figures provided by the Ministry of Health have matched those of the OHCHR and “there was no reason to believe that it is any different now.”
He explained that verifying 10,000 casualties with details on how they had perished “was already a remarkable achievement under the current dire circumstances.”
The Israeli mission did not find this explanation persuasive.
“By relying on unverified information, often promoted by Hamas or other entities known for manipulating narratives, the report severely compromises its objectivity and credibility and is indicative of the politically driven nature of this initiative.”
Daniel Meron, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, accused the OHCHR of hand-picking facts, of advancing a distorted narrative of a tragic conflict, and of “shielding a ruthless terrorist adversary that actively seeks to maximize civilian harm.”
Israel has frequently accused Hamas of using the civilian population as human shields by placing military installations in hospitals, schools and densely populated areas.
“The outcome is emboldening Palestinian terrorism, and violence against Israelis and Jews around the world,” Meron said.
U.N. human rights chief Türk said justice must be served for the grave violations of international law that have been committed in Israel and Gaza.
“It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved,” he said.
“The violence must stop immediately; the hostages and those arbitrarily detained must be released, and we must focus on flooding Gaza with humanitarian aid.
