GENEVA: A United Nations inquiry said it found that Israel carried out a concerted policy of destroying Gaza’s healthcare system in the Gaza war, actions amounting to both war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination.
A statement on Thursday (Oct 10) by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay that accompanied the report accused Israel of “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities” in the war, triggered by Hamas militants’ deadly cross-border attack on southern Israel on Oct 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, whose 24-page report covering the first 10 months of the war will be presented to the UN General Assembly on Oct 30.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva rejected the report’s findings, calling them outrageous.
“(The report) is another blatant attempt by the CoI to delegitimise the very existence of the State of Israel and obstruct its right to protect its population,” it said, referring to the Commission of Inquiry.
Israel says Gaza’s militants operate from the cover of built-up populated areas including schools and hospitals and that it will strike them 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 as they evacuated. The report said the ambulance was hit by a tank shell while within 50m of the family despite its route having been coordinated in advance with Israeli security forces.
