Israel has committed “genocidal acts” against Palestinians by systematically eradicating women’s healthcare facilities during the Gaza conflict and employing sexual violence as a tactic of war, according to a report released by United Nations experts on Thursday.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the report’s conclusions as biased and antisemitic.
“Rather than addressing the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Hamas terrorist organization… the United Nations once again opts to target the state of Israel with unfounded accusations,” he remarked in a statement.
Israel withdrew from the Human Rights Council in February.
“The Israeli authorities have partially dismantled the reproductive capabilities of the Palestinian population in Gaza, including through measures aimed at preventing births, one of the genocidal acts categorized by the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention,” stated the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
These actions, coupled with an increase in maternal mortality due to limited access to medical resources, constituted the crime against humanity of extermination, the commission asserted.
The report claimed that Israel’s security forces utilized forced public nudity and sexual assault as standard operating procedures to punish Palestinians following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023.
ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCE SAYS POLICIES PROHIBIT SUCH BEHAVIOR
Israel has denied these allegations.
“The IDF (Israeli Defense Force) has specific directives… and policies that clearly prohibit such misconduct,” the permanent mission to the UN in Geneva stated, adding that its review processes align with international standards.
A prior report released by the Commission in June 2024 accused Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions of serious human rights violations during the October 7, 2023, attack. In March of last year, a group of United Nations experts indicated there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that sexual violence, including rape, had occurred at multiple sites during the militant group’s assault.
Israel is a signatory to the Genocide Convention and was mandated by the International Court of Justice in January 2024 to take measures to prevent acts of genocide during its war against Hamas.
It is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which empowers the International Criminal Court to adjudicate individual criminal cases pertaining to genocide and crimes against humanity.
South Africa has filed a genocide case against Israel’s actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.
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Hamas executed a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, igniting a catastrophic war in the Gaza Strip that has resulted in the deaths of over 48,000 Palestinians, per health officials in Gaza. According to Israeli estimates, Hamas militants killed 1,200 individuals and captured 251 hostages.
