A United Nations inquiry said on Thursday it found that Israel carried out a concerted policy of destroying Gaza’s
healthcare system in the Gaza war.
What Do such Actions Amount To?
It said that these actions amounted to both war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination.
In a statement, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay accused Israel of “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities” in the war.
What Was The Provocation?
These attacks were triggered by Hamas militants’ deadly cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
“Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system,” said Pillay.
Report To Be Presented to UNGA
Her report will be presented to the U.N. General Assembly on October 30.
Israel says that Gaza’s militants operate from the cover of built-up populated areas including private homes, schools and hospitals.
It said that it will strike these militants wherever they emerge, while also trying to avoid harming civilians.
Hamas denies hiding militants, weapons and command posts among civilians.
The UN inquiry’s statement also accused Israeli forces of deliberately killing and torturing medical personnel, targeting medical vehicles and restricting permits for patients to leave the besieged Gaza Strip.
It cited the death of a Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, in February along with family members and two medics who came to rescue her from under Israeli fire.
A Massive Blow To the Heath System: WHO
The WHO says over 10,000 patients requiring urgent medical evacuation have been prevented from leaving Gaza since the Rafah border crossing with Egypt was shut.
The Palestinian health ministry says nearly 1,000 medics have been killed in Gaza in the past year.
The WHO has called this “an irreplaceable loss and a massive blow to the health system”.
The statement said the treatment of both Palestinian detainees in Israel and hostages seized by Hamas fighters in the October 7 attack had been investigated.
It accused both sides of involvement in torture and sexual violence.
What Was The Mandate Of The Commission Of Inquiry?
The broad mandate was to collect evidence and identify suspected perpetrators of international crimes committed in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
It bases its findings on a range of sources including interviews with victims and witnesses, submissions and satellite imagery.
The COI has previously alleged that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza war, and that Israel’s actions also constituted crimes against humanity because of the immense civilian losses.
The term is reserved for the most serious international crimes knowingly committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians.
Israel’s Non Cooperation
Israel has not cooperated with the inquiry, which it says has an anti-Israel bias.
The COI has accused Israel of obstructing its work and preventing investigators from accessing both Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Sometimes, the evidence that U.N.-mandated bodies gather servers to form the basis for war crimes prosecutions.
(With inputs from Reuters)
