US senator says UN 'war crimes' findings on Israel, Hamas must be supported

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Senator Bernie Sanders expressed support Thursday for a UN commission's report that said both Israel and Hamas had committed "war crimes" since Oct. 7 last year.

"The UN is right," Sanders said in a statement.

His remarks came after the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry published a report following their in-depth investigation of the war in Israel and Palestine and concluded that both Hamas and Israeli authorities have committed "war crimes and crimes against humanity."

"It is absolutely imperative that we support the work and findings of the United Nations and other international organizations like the International Criminal Court.

"These institutions are attempting to uphold the Geneva Conventions and the body of international law that emerged from the horrors of World War II," Sanders added.

He stressed that it is critical that the US and every other country stand firm against "barbarism,” work to implement international law, and ensure accountability.

The commission's report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council’s 56th session on June 19 in Geneva. It is based on interviews with victims and witnesses conducted remotely and during a mission to Türkiye and Egypt, with thousands of open-source items verified through advanced forensic analysis, hundreds of submissions, satellite imagery and forensic medical reports, according to the commission.

Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 37,200 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 84,900 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.