Israeli authorities are guilty of “the extermination of Palestinians” in Gaza since October 7, Navi Pillay, chairwoman of the independent UN international commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said during a speech at the UN Human Rights Council.
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“In light of Israeli military operations and attacks in Gaza that began on October 7, we conclude that the Israeli authorities are responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including deliberate mass extermination targeting civilians and civilian objects, killing or intentionally targeting, using starvation as a method of warfare, forced displacement, gender-based persecution of Palestinian men and boys, sexual and gender-based violence amounting to torture, and cruel or inhumane treatment.” she said.
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Earlier on Wednesday, a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that the Israeli army was systematically violating the laws of war in Gaza, which require minimizing civilian casualties during hostilities.
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Last week, the independent UN international commission of inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territory said Israeli authorities were responsible for a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Gaza since October 7.
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In May, International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan said he was applying to the Pre-Trial Chamber for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant. In his statement, he noted that they are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity that have been committed since October 2023. US President Joe Biden then said that the US does not consider what is happening in the Gaza Strip to be genocide and rejects Khan’s accusations.
