International investigation denounces Israel for allegedly committing the "crime of annihilation" by intentionally dismantling Gaza's medical infrastructure.
"The Israeli actions in the besieged Palestinian region are classified as the war crimes of intentional slaughter and mistreatment, as well as the crime against humanity of annihilation, the commission declared in a statement on Thursday.
According to a report from the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, Israeli security forces have intentionally killed, detained, and tortured medical personnel and aimed at medical vehicles in Gaza.
The Israeli attacks led to insufficient provision of fuel, food, water, medicines, and medical supplies to hospitals, as well as significant reductions in permits for patients to leave the territory for medical treatment, the report indicates.
The Israeli foreign ministry described the accusations as "preposterous" and argued that they were "just another malicious attempt by the commission to undermine the legitimacy of the State of Israel and hinder its right to protect its population while concealing the activities of terrorist organizations."
The report portrays Israel's conduct in terrorism-afflicted medical facilities in Gaza as a deliberate policy, while disregarding the substantial evidence that medical facilities in Gaza have been consistently misused by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for terrorist activities, the statement reads.
Hamas, according to the report, conceals operatives, stores weapons, conducts attacks, and hides hostages in medical facilities. However, Hamas has repeatedly denied the use of hospitals for military purposes.
In addition, the UN report accuses Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups of committing war crimes, such as "torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, rape, and sexual violence," in relation to the treatment of Israeli hostages captive in Gaza. The report also scrutinized the "systematic mistreatment" of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.
The Israeli foreign ministry denies "the widespread allegations of ill-treatment and torture of detainees," stating that Israel upholds international legal standards regarding the treatment of detainees.
In the statement accompanying the 24-page report, which lacks the force of law, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay argued that Israel "should cease its unparalleled, devastating destruction" in Gaza immediately.
"Children, in particular, have been gravely affected by these assaults, enduring both direct and indirect harm from the deterioration of the health system," she stated.
The report examines the killing of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl named Hind Rajab, who made headlines in late January after a video emerged of her pleading for emergency responders to save her and her family following Israeli shelling that trapped them in their vehicle.
Despite an ambulance arriving at the scene while the girl was still alive, the presence of Israeli security forces ostensibly "hindered access," resulting in the bodies of Rajab's family members remaining in their bullet-riddled car for 12 days post-incident, as per the report.
The report concludes that the Israeli Army's 162nd Division, which was active in the area at the time, bears responsibility for the killing of the family of seven, shelling the ambulance, and killing the two paramedics inside the vehicle.
The event was just one of numerous alleged assaults on healthcare in Gaza, occurring amid broader military conflict conditions."
The international community has expressed concern over the impact of Israeli actions on medical services in the Middle East, specifically in the Palestinian region. The World Health Organization has reported a critical shortage of medical supplies in hospitals due to Israeli restrictions, affecting both patients and medical personnel.
