Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel issued a report on Wednesday in which it charged both Hamas and Israel with war crimes.
The IICIOPTI made an extensive investigation into the October 7 massacre in Israel staged by the Hamas paramilitary and its allies. The Commission “met with more than 70 victims and witnesses, more than two thirds of them women.” It also sought out open-source reporting on the events of that horrible day. The Palestine Authority (led by the PLO, the primary rival to Hamas) provided it with further information. Israeli authorities declined to cooperate with the commission and attempted to obstruct its work by forbidding Israeli physicians to talk to it.
The authors of the report write about October 7, “According to Israeli sources, more than 1,200 persons were killed directly by members of various Palestinian armed groups and others and by rockets and mortars launched from the Gaza Strip. Of these, at least 809 were civilians, including at least 280 women , 68 foreign nationals and 314 Israeli military personnel. Among those killed were 40 children (including at least 23 boys and 15 girls) and 25 persons aged 80 and over. In addition, 14,970 people were injured and transferred to hospitals for treatment.”
The 150,000 Israelis displaced by the attack for the most part have still not be able to return to their homes.
The authors continue, zeroing in on attacks by Hamas fighters and those of other militant groups on kibbutzim:
“Hamas military wing, other Palestinian armed groups and civilians attacked distinct civilian targets in at least 24 localities, as well as public spaces and outdoor festivals. In these sites militants systematically moved from house to house setting homes on fire, shooting into private and public shelters, and removing people from hiding places, killing, injuring and abducting civilians to Gaza. The Commission investigated six distinct attacks in Be’eri and eight attacks in Nir Oz, each involving multiple victims, largely from the same families.”
“In Be’eri, 105 civilians were killed (63 men and 42 women) by members of the military wings of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as well as by civilians from Gaza. In addition, 31 civilians (13 men and 18 women) were abducted to the Gaza Strip. Attackers entered the kibbutz and shot at residents, cars, pets and houses, killing and injuring, setting houses on fire and abducting people to Gaza.”
The authors add of the musical Rave that was assaulted, “Of 3,000 young people at the Nova music festival in Re’im, 364 attendees (including 215 men and 136 women) were killed by members of the military wing of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, while around 40 others were abducted to Gaza. Victims were killed at the site of the main festival while attempting to hide under the festival stage, in portable public toilets, inside parked cars and in garbage containers.”
Hamas and its colleagues also attacked military bases. The Commission concludes that it shot unarmed and wounded soldiers to death who were outside of combat and should not have been killed.
Although Hamas fighters humiliated women’s bodies, leaving them in a state of undress after their murder and parading them, when they were taken hostage, back in Gaza, the Commission could not independently verify charges of rape. It is important to underline that it seems to have found the charges plausible, given the position and condition of some dead bodies. But its investigation was obstructed by Israel, preventing it from coming to a firm conclusion. It does find clear evidence of sexual violence.
The Commission found Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other groups guilty of extensive violations of the laws of war (International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law).
Al Jazeera English Video: “UN probe accuses Israel of ‘extermination’ in war on Gaza”
As for the Israeli response, they note the over 35,000 killed and over 70,000 injured among the Palestinians of Gaza. Most of that killing and wounding was accomplished by airstrikes and artillery fire. They note that the figures are lower than the likely reality because so many bodies are buried under rubble.
The authors write, “During the first weeks of the military campaign, ISF [Israeli Security Forces] primarily used air strikes targeting high-rise buildings and other civilian objects in the al-Rimal neighbourhood, Khan Younis, in Gaza City, Jabalia and al-Shati refugee camps, and other locations, causing thousands of casualties, wreaking devastation and razing entire residential blocks and neighbourhoods to rubble in near-constant heavy bombardment.”
This time is different, they note. Although Israel has attacked the Palestinians of Gaza on several occasions, between 2005 and 2023 it had killed only about a tenth of the number of people it has dispatched in the past nine months. They add, “The Commission has also observed an increasing trend in the number of fatalities of women and children compared with previous hostilities and assesses that this is associated with ISF’s air bombardment campaign and its frequent use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area in populated districts.”
They quote Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant as saying, “Gaza will never return to be what it was”, and “I have released all restraints, we use everything”. They conclude that the Israeli military has been given free rein to kill civilians indiscriminately in order to get at Hamas and other militants: “the Commission considers these statements indicate that the Israeli Government has given ISF blanket authorisation to target civilian locations widely and indiscriminately in the Gaza Strip.”
In fact, the Commission concluded that many Israeli operations appeared to have no specific Hamas target in mind: “In many of these cases, the Commission could not identify military targets as the focus of the attacks. Even when military targets were allegedly present, attacks lacked distinction, proportionality and precautions, resulting in thousands killed and injured and widespread destruction of entire neighborhoods including in Jabalia, Al-Rimal, Al-Yarmouk and Al-Maghazi.” It is accusing the Israeli military of deliberately focusing on civilian targets and neighborhoods. This isn’t a war on Hamas but a total war on Palestinian noncombatants.
The Commission is also looking at the humanitarian crisis imposed quite deliberately by Israeli authorities: “Statements from Israeli officials show their intent to instrumentalize the provision of basic necessities, including food and water, to hold the population of the Gaza Strip hostage to political and military objectives. Since December 2023, more than 90 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip has faced high acute food insecurity, the most acute situation being reported in northern Gaza . . . As of March 2024, the situation is continuing to deteriorate; 1.1 million people face catastrophic levels of food insecurity.”
So here is the Commission’s conclusion about the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza. It is worth reading all the way through:
- 80. In relation to the Commission’s investigation into Israel’s attacks and operations in Gaza and OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territory], the Commission found that Israeli authorities and members of the ISF committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of IHL [Interntional Humanitarian Law] and IHRL [International Human Rights Law].
81. The Commission found that the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare; murder or wilful killing; intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects; forcible transfer; sexual violence; outrages upon personal dignity; and SGBV amounting to torture or inhuman and cruel treatment were committed.
82. The Commission found that through several actions including siege, Israel inflicted collective punishment on the Palestinian population in Gaza, in direct violation of IHL.
83. The Commission found it foreseeable that civilians would be present in the areas targeted by the ISF; nonetheless, the ISF intentionally proceeded to direct its attacks against the civilian population and civilian objects, including places of worship, with such knowledge, in direct violation of the IHL principles of adequate precautions, distinction, proportionality, and special protections for children and women.
84. The Commission found that the chapeau elements of crimes against humanity have been fulfilled, namely a widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population in Gaza. The Commission found that the crimes against humanity of extermination; murder; gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys; forcible transfer; and torture and inhuman and cruel treatment were committed.
85. The Commission found that the siege and forcible transfer, compounded with widespread destruction caused by attacks and military operations, resulted in the IHRL violations of the rights to family life, adequate food, housing, education, health, social security, and water and sanitation, particularly impacting children and persons in vulnerable situations. The age and gender specific harms resulted in violations of the CRC and rights to non-discrimination in the CEDAW.
That’s 1) Starvation as a method of warfare; 2) murder or wilful killing; 3) intentionally attacking civilians or civilian infrastructure; 4) forcible transfer; 5) sexual violence; 6) torture or its equivalent; and 7) collective punishment.
So, that amounts to “crimes against humanity,” defined as a “widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.”
In addition, the Israeli military violated the basic human rights of the Palestinians of Gaza, depriving them of adequate food, housing, water, sanitation and education.
The Commission’s report is important. The UN Human Rights Council is a considerable body. The report will certainly be read closely by the International Court of Justice, which is considering charges of genocide against Israel, and by the International Criminal Court, the prosecutor of which has sought arrest warrants against high Israeli and Hamas officials.
The IICIOPTI was established in 2021 by the United Nations Human Rights Council, a 47-member intergovernmental body within the UN. Its mandate holders are drawn from countries in each of the world’s five major regions, and the member states are elected by the UN General Assembly. Western countries (Western Europe and others) that are currently members include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America.
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