A U.N.-established independent commission accused both Palestinian militant groups and Israel of committing war crimes in a report released Wednesday on the October 7 terror attacks on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza.
AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
KEY FACTS
The unedited report published by the commission, led by former U.N. Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay, details the findings of the U.N.’s first in-depth investigation of the October 7 attack and the ongoing war in Gaza that followed—including interviews of victims and witnesses and examination of forensic data.
Hamas and six other armed Palestinian groups killed and tortured people during the October 7 terror attack, the report found, including instances of “physical, mental and sexual violence and degrading and humiliating treatment.”
The militants subjected Israeli children to “physical and emotional mistreatment” and the commission found patterns of sexual violence that “Israeli women were disproportionally subjected to.”
The report says the immense civilian casualties and widespread destruction in Gaza was the result of Israel’s strategy of using force “undertaken with intent to cause maximum damage, disregarding distinction, proportionality and adequate precautions, and thus unlawful.”
Despite Israeli authorities’ claimed objectives being the destruction of Hamas and the release of hostages, the commission says their actions indicated “other motivations including vengeance and collective punishment,” adding that some statements by Israeli officials “amounted to incitement and may constitute other serious international crimes.”
The report says Israel committed “crimes against humanity of extermination; murder; gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys; forcible transfer; and torture and inhuman and cruel treatment.”
KEY BACKGROUND
The commission also accused Israeli forces of engaging in sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians, including “forced public nudity, forced public stripping, sexualized torture and abuse, and sexual humiliation and harassment.” The report says Palestinian men were filmed and photographed by Israeli soldiers while being subjected to “forced public stripping and nudity, sexual torture and inhumane or cruel treatment.” Women on the other hand were targeted with psychological violence and online sexual harassment, including doxing female detainees and drawing sexualized graffiti “including at a women’s shelter in Gaza that was directly targeted.” The report also mentions Israeli soldiers filming and photographing themselves with lingerie ransacked from Palestinian homes and “referring to Arab women as ‘sluts’.” Wednesday’s report comes after a U.N. team visited Israel for 17 days earlier this year and said it found “clear and convincing information” of rape and sexual torture committed against civilians taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attack. The team said it found at least three locations in southern Israel where “rape and gang rape” occurred.
CONTRA
The report mentions that Hamas’s military arm rejected allegations of sexual violence against Israeli women, despite evidence collected by the commission. Israel has refused to cooperate with the commission’s investigation and denied its panel members access to Israel, Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The Israeli government also refused to respond to “six requests for information and access” sent by the commission. In contrast, the State of Palestine was also sent a request for information and responded with “extensive comments.”
