UN probe accuses Israel of ‘extermination,’ other crimes against humanity in Gaza

Chairwoman of the ‘The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel,’ South-Africa’s Navi Pillay (R) speaks during a briefing to UN member states about ongoing investigations of the Commission at the UN offices in Geneva, on April 16, 2024. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

A United Nations investigation claims that Israel had committed crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza, including the crime of “extermination.”

“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,” the Commission of Inquiry says in a report, due to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council next week.

The probe also accuses several Palestinian terror groups of committing “war crimes” since the conflict in Gaza erupted on October 7, when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages.

“It is imperative that all those who have committed crimes be held accountable,” says Navi Pillay, who chairs the Commission of Inquiry.

The commission was set up by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Israel rejects the findings and accuses the UN Commission of Inquiry of long-standing “systematic anti-Israeli discrimination.”

The Commission of Inquiry “has once again proven that its actions are all in the service of a narrow-led political agenda against Israel,” said Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.