UN Inquiry Accuses Israel of Trying to Destroy Gaza Health System

An inquiry from independent experts on a United Nations (U.N.) commission accused Israel on Thursday of trying to destroy Gaza’s health system.

It’s been just over a year since Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages. Almost 100 hostages remain in captivity, less than 70 of whom are believed to be alive.

Israel subsequently launched its military operation in Gaza, killing over 41,000 Palestinians so far, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians. Local health officials say over half of the Palestinians who have died in the conflict were women and children.

The independent expert panel, which does not speak for the U.N., accused Israel of deliberately killing, detaining and torturing Palestinian medical staff. The panel also said in their report that Israel has targeted the medical staff’s vehicles and restricted permits for medical evacuations from Gaza.

The panel, which was commissioned by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council in 2021, said Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is already seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack and the war in Gaza.

“Israel must immediately stop its unprecedented wanton destruction of health care facilities in Gaza,” Navi Pillay, a former U.N. human rights chief who leads the expert panel, said in a statement. “By targeting health care facilities, Israel is targeting the right to health itself with significant long-term detrimental effects on the civilian population.”

Israel did not have an immediate comment on the panel’s findings, but it has long accused the U.N. of being biased against it. Israel has not cooperated with the commission, which was commissioned to investigate rights violations and abuses in Israel and Israeli-controlled Palestinian areas.

The Israeli military has raided hospitals in Gaza several times, accusing militants of sheltering inside. Palestinian medical officials have denied such accusations and have claimed that Israel is recklessly endangering civilians.

The expert panel said children have paid much of the cost of Israel’s alleged actions against Gaza’s health system, citing attacks on medical facilities offering pediatric and neonatal care.

Thousands of both adults and children detained in Israeli military camps and detention facilities “have been subjected to widespread and systematic abuse, physical and psychological violence, and sexual and gender-based violence,” according to the panel.

Meanwhile, the commission also said that hostages held captive by Palestinian militants in Gaza were subjected to physical and sexual violence, forced isolation and threats, and had limited access to water, food and hygiene facilities. The panel said Palestinian militants were also guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, calling on them to release all the hostages immediately.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.