According to an investigation conducted by the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI), Israel and Hamas are both guilty of war crimes during the early phases of the Gaza conflict. The inquiry, which was released on Wednesday, also indicates Israel as being culpable for crimes against humanity due to the large number of civilian casualties.
Two reports were produced in parallel by the COI. One scrutinised the Hamas attacks on the 7th of October, whilst the other analysed the military retaliation by Israel. The COI, which has an extensive remit to gather evidence and pinpoint culprits of global crimes within the Israeli and Palestinian territories, stated that Israel has not only avoided co-operation but also hampered their work. Israel has also been accused of preventing the investigators from accessing Israeli territories and the territories occupied by Palestine.
The UN diplomatic mission of Israel in Geneva has dismissed these findings, accusing the COI of serving a political agenda that’s against Israel’s interests. Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, reiterated this stance.
Nonetheless, Hamas has not yet given a response.
Israel’s own figures indicate that over 1,200 lives were lost and 250 people were taken hostage during the cross-border skirmishes on October 7th. These episodes led to a military backlash in Gaza which took a heavy toll on the local population, with Palestinian records indicating the death toll exceeded 37,000.
The reports — covering the timeframe of October 7th to December 31st, 2023 — documented different types of war crimes committed by both parties such as acts of torture; murder or intentional killing; indignity upon personal dignity; and brutal or inhuman treatment.
Additional charges levelled against Israel include causing starvation as a method of warfare. The claim alleges that Israel not only neglected to supply basic necessities like food, water, shelter, and medicines to Gazans, but also deliberately blocked others from making such provision.
In the Commission’s view, some of these war crimes, including murder, can also be classified as crimes against humanity committed by Israel. This categorisation is reserved for grave international crimes borne out of a deliberate or systematic attack on civilians.
The statement by the COI noted that the high casualty number and intense destruction in Gaza were not incidental but an expected outcome of a strategy designed to inflict maximum damage without heeding principles of distinction, proportionality and adequate precautions.
Now and then, facts collected by UN-directed entities like the COI have provided grounds for launching war crimes prosecutions, which may ultimately serve as a resource for the International Criminal Court.
The Commission of Inquiry’s (COI) conclusions rely on a diverse array of evidence including victim and witness accounts, a substantial number of submissions, satellite images, medical records, and corroborated open-source information. The 59-page report, investigating the attacks that took place on October 7th, was able to confirm four instances of mass homicide in public havens. The COI indicated that this implies militants were operating under established directive orders. Simultaneously, the commission recognised a recurring pattern of sexual violence enacted by Palestinian military factions, however, it was unable to substantiate independent claims of sexual assault.
In a more extensive 126-page report focusing on Gaza, the COI argued that Israel’s implementation of weaponry such as MK84 guided bombs, which have a substantial destructive radius, within populated zones conflicts with international humanitarian laws. It stated that these weapons fail to sufficiently or precisely distinguish between their military objectives and civilian entities.
Specifically, it marked the actions against Palestinian males as a crime of gender persecution, a violation against humanity, alluding to instances where victims were compelled to disrobe publicly, an act aimed at severe debasement. These findings are scheduled for discussion at the forthcoming UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.
The COI, formed in 2021 by the Geneva council, consists of three self-governing experts, inclusive of chairperson and ex-UN human rights leader from South Africa, Navi Pillay. The commission works with an undefined term period, a characteristic that has drawn criticism from both Israel and its supporters. This information was reported by Reuters.