UN investigation accuses Israel of seeking to destroy Gaza's health system By Reuters
Written by Emma Farge
GENEVA (Reuters) – A United Nations investigation says it has found that Israel carried out a concerted effort to destroy the health system in Gaza in the Gaza war, actions that amount to both war crimes and crimes against humanity of genocide.
A statement on Thursday by former High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay accompanying the report accused Israel of “deliberate attacks on health workers and facilities” in the war, which was triggered by a deadly cross-border attack by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel. October 7, 2023.
“Children in particular bear 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 October 30.
The Israeli delegation in Geneva rejected the report's findings, calling it an outrage.
“(The report) is another blatant attempt by the CoI to legitimize the existence of the State of Israel and prevent its right to defend its people,” it said, referring to the Commission of Inquiry.
Israel says the Gaza army is working in residential areas including schools and hospitals and will attack them wherever they appear, while trying to avoid harming civilians. Hamas denies hiding militants, weapons and command positions among civilians.
The UN investigation statement also accused Israeli forces of deliberately killing and torturing medical workers, targeting medical vehicles and preventing patients from leaving the besieged Gaza Strip.
It cited the death of a Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, in February and the family members and two doctors who came to rescue her under Israeli fire as they were leaving. The report said the ambulance was hit by a tank shell while it was within 50 meters (55 yards) of the family even though its route had been coordinated in advance by Israeli forces.
'IRREVERSIBLE LOSS'
The World Health Organization says more than 10,000 patients in need of urgent medical evacuation have been barred from leaving Gaza since the Rafah border with Egypt was closed in May. The Palestinian Ministry of Health says that almost 1,000 doctors were killed in Gaza last year in what the WHO calls “irreparable losses and a major breakdown in the health system”.
In the cases where four hospitals were asked to evacuate by the Israeli army, the investigation found that the orders were “impossible” as they did not give medics time to evacuate hundreds of patients and the Israeli army did not help them.
It also said that the treatment of both Palestinian prisoners in Israel and hostages taken by Hamas in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel had been investigated and accused both sides of engaging in torture and sexual abuse.
The investigation has a broad mandate to gather evidence and identify suspects of international crimes committed in Israel and the Palestinian territories. It bases its findings on multiple sources including interviews with victims and witnesses, transmissions and satellite images.
The commission has previously alleged that Israel and Hamas committed war crimes at the start of the Gaza war, and that Israel's actions amounted to crimes against humanity due to the massive loss of life. This term is reserved for the most serious international crimes committed intentionally as part of a widespread or organized attack against civilians.
Israel did not cooperate with the investigation, saying it was biased against Israel. The commission accused Israel of obstructing its work and preventing investigators from accessing both Israeli and Palestinian territories.
Evidence gathered by those UN-authorized bodies sometimes forms the basis of war crimes prosecutions and can be taken by the International Criminal Court.
