The Israeli authorities are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during military operations and attacks in Gaza since October 7, 2023, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said today in a new report.
The Commission also concluded that Palestinian armed groups are responsible for war crimes committed in Israel in the attacks they directed on that date.
Israel Crimes
In the report, the Commission determines that Israel has committed the crime against humanity of extermination. In that category, it also points out the crimes of gender-based persecution against Palestinian men and boys, murder, forced transfer, torture and inhuman and cruel treatment.
The report concludes that “statements by Israeli officialsincluding those reflecting a policy of inflicting widespread destruction and killing large numbers of civilians, amount to incitement and may constitute other serious international crimes.”
Direct and public incitement to genocide is a crime under international law whenever it is perpetrated, even by persons without direct authority to conduct hostilities. Incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence is a serious violation of international human rights law and may constitute an international crime.
Hunger, maximum damage and collective punishment
In relation to Israeli military operations and attacks in Gaza, which have so far killed more than 37,200 Palestinians and injured almost 85,000, the Commission concluded that the Israeli authorities are responsible of different war crimes, such as those of using hunger as a method of warthe intentional attack against civilians and civilian objects, murder or intentional homicide, forced transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention and outrages against personal dignity.
“The immense number of civilian casualties in Gaza and the widespread destruction of civilian property and infrastructure are the inevitable result of a strategy undertaken with the intention of causing maximum damage, ignoring the principles of distinction, proportionality and appropriate precautions. The intentional use of heavy weapons with great destructive capacity in densely populated areas constitutes an intentional and direct attack against the civilian population,” the Commission states.
Furthermore, members of the Commission, headed by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navy Pillay, determine that Israel has imposed a “total siege” on Gaza, which is equivalent to a collective punishment against the civilian population.
Those most affected: people with disabilities, children and pregnant women
“Israeli authorities have weaponized the siege and used the supply of essential items, such as water, food, electricity, fuel and humanitarian aid, for strategic and political benefits. The siege has disproportionately affected pregnant women and people with disabilities, and inflicted serious harm on childrencausing preventable child deaths due to starvation, including newborns.
The report concluded that certain forms of sexual and gender violence are part of the operational procedures of the Israeli security forces.
“The Commission reached this conclusion due to the frequency, prevalence and severity of the violations, which include undressing and displaying nudity in public with the intention to humiliate the community in general and accentuate the subordination of an occupied people”.
In the West Bank, the Commission notes that Israeli forces committed acts of sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment and outrages to personal dignityall of them war crimes.
Furthermore, the Commission concluded that the Government of Israel and Israeli forces enabled, encouraged and instigated a campaign of settler violence against the Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
Inadequate response and the Aníbal directive
The Commission examines Israel’s response immediately following the attacks by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam brigades of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and more than 250 captured. hostages, and notes that “it initially suffered significant delays and, in many places, was totally inadequate.”
Furthermore, the Commission has received information that the Israeli Army used the call Hannibal directive “to prevent the capture of Israeli civilians and their transfer to Gaza, even at the cost of killing them”.
After receiving various allegations, the Commission verified that the Israeli Army probably applied the directive in two cases in which 14 Israelis died.
Hamas crimes
In relation to the October 7 attack in Israel, the report concludes that the military wing of Hamas and six other Palestinian armed groups are responsible for various war crimes, such as intentionally directing attacks against civilianscommitting murder or intentional homicide, inflicting torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, destroying and seizing the property of an adversary, and perpetrating outrages on personal dignity and taking hostages, including children.
The indiscriminate launching of thousands of projectiles against Israeli towns and cities that cause deaths and injuries among the civilian population are also violations of international humanitarian law and human rights.
Members of Palestinian armed groups, in some cases aided by plainclothes Palestinians, deliberately killed, injured, tortured and took hostages, including children.and committed acts of sexual and gender-based violence against civilians and against members of the Israeli security forces, some of whom were hors de combat and should not have been attacked.
The Commission identified indicative patterns of sexual violence and concluded that these were not isolated incidents, but perpetrated in a similar way in several places, mainly against Israeli women.
Attack and response cannot be seen in isolation
The Commission affirms that both the October 7 attack in Israel and the subsequent Israeli military operation in Gaza should not be considered in isolation.
The only way to end recurring cycles of violence, including aggression and retaliation by both sides, is to ensure strict observance of international law, the Commission says.
“This includes ending the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territoryto discrimination, oppression and the denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and guarantee peace and security for Jews and Palestinians,” he adds.
Accountability
“It is imperative that all those who have committed crimes be held accountable“said Navi Pillay, the president of the Commission, after the report was released. “The only way to end the recurring cycles of violence, including aggression and reprisals by both sides, is to ensure strict compliance with international law “.
Pillay said that “Israel must immediately end its military operations and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah, which has cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and displaced hundreds of thousands of people again to unsafe locations without services.” basics or humanitarian aid.
He added: “Hamas and Palestinian armed groups must immediately cease rocket attacks and release all hostages. Taking hostages constitutes a war crime.”
The report of the Commission, appointed by the Human Rights Council in 2021, is the first in-depth investigation by the UN into the events that occurred on October 7, 2023 and since then, it is based on interviews with victims and witnesses carried out remotely. and during a mission to Turkey and Egypt, thousands of open source items verified by advanced forensic analysis, hundreds of submissions, satellite images and forensic medical reports.
Israel obstructed the Commission’s investigations and prevented its access to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
