UN Commission finds war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israeli attacks on Gaza health facilities

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – Israel has perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a broader assault on Gaza, committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities, a UN Commission said on Thursday.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel also investigated the treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel and of Israeli and foreign hostages in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

It concluded that “Israel and Palestinian armed groups are responsible for torture and sexual and gender-based violence.”

“Israel must immediately stop its unprecedented wanton destruction of healthcare facilities in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, chair of the commission.

“By targeting healthcare facilities, Israel is targeting the right to health itself with significant long-term detrimental effects on the civilian population. Children, in particular, have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system.”

The report found that Israeli security forces have deliberately killed, detained and tortured medical personnel and targeted medical vehicles while tightening their siege on Gaza and restricting permits to leave the territory for medical treatment.

“These actions constitute the war crimes of willful killing and mistreatment and of the destruction of protected civilian property and the crime against humanity of extermination,” said the commission.

Attacks on medical facilities in Gaza, particularly those devoted to pediatric and neonatal care, have led to incalculable suffering of child patients, including newborns, the commission said.