GENEVA (news agencies) — United Nations-backed human rights experts on Thursday accused Israel of “the systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence” in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The allegations came in one of the most extensive reports of its kind on the issue since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel ignited the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the Human Rights Council, a U.N.-backed body that commissioned the team of independent experts, as an “anti-Israel circus” that “has long been exposed as an antisemitic, rotten, terrorist-supporting, and irrelevant body.” His statement did not address the findings themselves.
The findings by the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which seeks to document in minute detail the allegations and evidence of crimes to bolster accountability for perpetrators, could be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court or in other jurisdictions to try to bring justice to victims and their relatives.
In its report released Thursday, the commission examined the widespread destruction of Gaza, the use of heavy explosives in civilian areas and Israeli attacks on hospitals and health facilities. It said all three led to “disproportionate violence against women and children.”
The commission documented a range of violations perpetrated against Palestinian women, men, girls and boys and accused Israeli security forces of rape and sexual violence against Palestinian detainees. Israel denies any systematic abuse of prisoners and says it takes action when there are violations.
“Our report finds that Israel has increasingly employed sexual, reproductive, and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians as part of a broader effort to undermine their right to self-determination,” Chris Sidoti, a member of the commission, told reporters in Geneva.
Israel’s mission in Geneva rejected the allegations and accused the commission of relying on “second-hand, single, uncorroborated sources.” Since the commission was set up in 2021 — long before the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel — Israel has refused to cooperate with it, accusing the investigative team and the council of bias.
Commission member Sidoti said the report “also concludes that Israel has carried out genocidal acts through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive health care facilities.”
The commission stopped short of accusing Israel of genocide, as some advocacy groups and other rights experts have. Israel, which was established in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust and is home to many survivors and their families, has vigorously denied such allegations.
Israel says it took extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians in the 15-month war, which has been paused by a fragile ceasefire. It blames civilian deaths and destruction on Hamas because the militants operate in residential areas. Israeli forces carried out a number of raids on hospitals, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, allegations denied by Palestinian health officials.
Pointing to the report, a Hamas statement urged international courts to prosecute Israel’s leaders.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, accusing them of war crimes, which they deny. The court also issued a warrant in November for Hamas’ military leader, but the militants have since confirmed that he was killed.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
Israeli authorities, citing eyewitness accounts and other evidence, have accused Hamas-led militants of widespread rape and sexual violence. Israeli experts who have treated former hostages say some were subjected to physical and sexual abuse in captivity.
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