UN inquiry accuses Israel of ‘extermination’, ‘war crimes’ in Gaza

Navi Pillay, a former UN high commissioner for human rights and chair of the inquiry, said in a statement Israel had carried out “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities” since October 2023.

“Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system,” she added.

Pillay will present a full report on the issue to the UN General Assembly on 30 October.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that two missions to war-ravaged northern Gaza had been impeded and denied by Israel.

The missions attempted to carry out medical evacuations of critical patients and the delivery of life-saving fuel, blood units, and medical supplies.

However, delays at Israeli checkpoints and other impediments forced them to turn back.

A total of seven similar mission were denied this week, WHO noted.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Israel to “stop evacuation orders, protect hospitals” and “facilitate humanitarian missions”.

“North Gaza has barely any health services left. People have nowhere to go,” Ghebreyesus continued, adding, “Work towards a ceasefire. All people trapped in this conflict need peace.”

The UN team’s statement also accused Israeli soldiers of deliberately killing and torturing medical personnel, targeting medical vehicles and restricting permits for patients to leave the besieged Gaza Strip.

The World Health Organisation says over 10,000 patients requiring urgent medical evacuation have been prevented from leaving Gaza since the Rafah border crossing with Egypt was shut in May.

The Palestinian health ministry says nearly 1,000 medics have been killed in Gaza in the past year, in what the WHO called “an irreplaceable loss and a massive blow to the health system”.

The statement added the treatment of both Palestinian detainees in Israel and captives seized by Hamas fighters in the 7 October attack had been investigated and it accused both sides of involvement in torture and sexual violence.

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since October last year surpassed 42,000 on Wednesday evening, according to the Palestinian health ministry.