A United Nations inquiry has determined that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during the initial stages of the Gaza conflict, with Israel’s actions amounting to crimes against humanity due to the extensive civilian casualties. The findings were detailed in two separate reports by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI), which has the authority to gather evidence and identify perpetrators of international crimes committed in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
The COI reports, released on June 12, 2024, focus on the Hamas attacks of October 7 and Israel’s subsequent military response. According to the COI, Israel’s military actions resulted in significant civilian losses, which were the “inevitable result of a strategy undertaken with intent to cause maximum damage.” This strategy ignored fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution in warfare.
Israel, however, has refused to cooperate with the commission, accusing it of bias. The Israeli diplomatic mission to the U.N. in Geneva rejected the findings, with Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar stating that the COI’s actions serve a narrow political agenda against Israel. Hamas has not yet responded to the inquiry’s findings.
The October 7 attacks by Hamas resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people and the taking of 250 hostages. In retaliation, Israel launched military operations in Gaza, which have since resulted in more than 37,000 deaths, according to Palestinian sources. The COI reports, covering the conflict up to December, highlight various war crimes committed by both sides, including torture, willful killing, and inhuman treatment.
Additionally, the COI found that Israel committed other war crimes, such as using starvation as a method of warfare. The report noted that Israel not only failed to provide essential supplies like food, water, and medicine to Gazans but also actively prevented others from supplying these necessities. The COI stated that some of these acts, including murder, also constituted crimes against humanity, defined as serious international crimes committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians.
The inquiry’s findings are based on extensive evidence, including interviews with victims and witnesses, satellite imagery, medical reports, and verified open-source information. The COI identified incidents of mass killings in public shelters, suggesting that Palestinian militants had “standing operational instructions.” It also noted a pattern of sexual violence by Palestinian armed groups but could not independently verify reports of rape.
In the more detailed Gaza report, the COI criticized Israel’s use of weapons like the MK84 guided bombs in urban areas, stating that such weapons cannot accurately discriminate between military targets and civilian objects. The report also highlighted cases of gender persecution against Palestinian men and boys, who were forced to strip naked in public as a form of severe humiliation.
The COI’s findings will be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva next week. The commission, composed of three independent experts including its chair, South African former U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay, was established in 2021. It has an open-ended mandate, which has been a point of contention for both Israel and some of its allies.
Despite the lack of cooperation from Israel, the COI’s findings contribute to the broader understanding of the conflict’s impact on civilians and may inform future prosecutions for war crimes. The severity and scale of the reported atrocities underscore the urgent need for accountability and justice in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
