Gaza: “Evidence of war crimes” gathered by an NGO accusing Israel

A special UN committee finds that Israel is “intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury” in the Gaza Strip. Methods of warfare that “meet the characteristics of genocide”.

Is Israel committing genocide in the Gaza Strip ? The UN has ruled. The methods of warfare employed by the Hebrew State “meet the characteristics of genocide,” a UN special committee said on Thursday, November 14. In explaining this conclusion, the committee highlighted the “massive civilian casualties and the conditions imposed on Palestinians there that intentionally endanger their lives.” The report singles out Israeli practices affecting human rights in Gaza.

“Through its siege of Gaza, its obstruction of humanitarian assistance, its targeted attacks and the killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated calls by the United Nations, binding orders by the International Court of Justice and Security Council resolutions, Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury,” the statement said. Israel “uses starvation as a method of warfare and inflicts collective punishment on the Palestinian population,” the committee added. In October, the UN estimated that there were 1.9 million Gazans displaced by the war. The total population was estimated at some 2.4 million people at the start of the war.

A “deadly” mix

Israeli forces used more than 25,000 tons of explosives in the Gaza Strip, “the equivalent of two nuclear bombs,” or about twice the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, the report said. “By destroying vital water, sanitation and food systems, and contaminating the environment, Israel has created a deadly mix of crises that will inflict grave harm on generations to come,” the committee said.