UN: Israeli attacks on medical facilities are war crimes

A UN report released Oct. 11 documented Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities and medical personnel in the Gaza Strip in violation of international human rights law, calling the attacks war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report—written by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel—also condemned Israeli treatment of detainees, citing instances of abuse, torture, sexual assault, and arbitrary detention.
Citing the World Health Organization, the report states that between Oct. 7, 2023 and July 30, 2024, Israel engaged in “498 attacks on health care facilities in the Gaza Strip,” with 747 people killed, 969 injured, and 110 facilities affected. The report acknowledged Israel’s justification that the raids and air-strikes were in response to alleged Hamas use of medical facilities for military purposes, but charged that Israel had not provided evidence to substantiate the claims. Following interviews with senior medical personnel at the hospitals, the Commission wrote that the personnel “denied that there was any military activity” at the facilities, and emphasized “that the hospitals’ only role was to treat patients.”
In an accompanying press release, the chair of the commission, Navi Pillay, implored Israel to cease the campaign against healthcare facilities in Gaza, stating: “By targeting healthcare facilities, Israel is targeting the right to health itself with significant long-term detrimental effects on the civilian population.”
The report also dedicated substantial attention to the treatment of Palestinian detainees. Between October 2023 and July 2024, a total of 14,000 Palestinians were arrested, “including journalists, human rights defenders, medical staffs, patients, United Nations staff and relatives of suspects.” Alleged mistreatment of detainees included being stripped and transported naked, beatings, sexual assaults, religious slurs, and death threats.
The commission acknowledged reports of poor treatment and ill conditions for the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and condemned “war crimes of torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, [as well as] rape and sexual violence” committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. The commission pushed for the release of the remaining hostages while urging the state of Israel to cease the unlawful detention of Palestinians, and terminate attacks on medical facilities and personnel.
Israel attacked the report, calling it a “blatant attempt by the CoI [Commission of Inquiry] to delegitimize the very existence of the State of Israel and obstruct its right to protect its population, while covering up the crimes of terrorist organizations who not only seek Israel’s destruction—but have openly demonstrated these intentions for the world to see.”
The report comes just a few days after the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack and follows the launch of ballistic missiles on Israel from Iran after the death of an Iranian general and leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah in Israeli air-strikes. Fears of the escalating conflictbetween Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon spilling out more widely across the Middle East have elicited humanitarian concerns and an announcement of an arms embargo on Israel from French President Emmanuel Macron.
From Jurist, Oct. 11. Used with permission.
See our last reports on Israeli strikes on hospitals, Israel’s detention state, and accusations of genocide.
Photo: Mohamed Solaimane/TNH