Israel Dismisses UN Probe Findings on Conflict

On Friday, Israel condemned a UN probe that concluded it was intentionally aiming to destroy healthcare in the Gaza Strip and mistreating Palestinian detainees, calling the findings “outrageous.”

The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry said Israel had “perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system”.

The country is “committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities”, it added, in a report released Thursday.

Israel stated that it firmly rejects the allegations in a statement from its mission in Geneva.

“This latest report is another blatant attempt by the CoI to delegitimise the very existence of the State of Israel and obstruct its right to protect its population, while covering up the crimes of terrorist organisations.

“This report shamelessly portrays Israel’s operations in terror-infested health facilities in Gaza as a matter of policy against Gaza’s health system, while entirely dismissing overwhelming evidence that medical facilities in Gaza have been systematically used by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for terrorist activities,” it said.

Israel also denied accusations of widespread and systematic abuse of Palestinian detainees, which were characterized as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“Israel is fully committed to international legal standards regarding the treatment of detainees. This includes prohibition of excessive use of force
and ill-treatment,” the mission said.

Israel accused the commission of fabricating an “alternate reality” and contributing to “the exacerbation of this conflict.”

The three-person commission, established by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021 to investigate alleged violations of international law in Israel and the Palestinian territories, was publishing its second report since Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2022, which triggered the ongoing conflict.

Following the October 7 attack by Hamas militants, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, Israel launched an invasion of the Gaza Strip.

According to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures, this number includes hostages killed while in captivity.

In response, Israel’s offensive has reportedly resulted in over 42,000 fatalities in Gaza, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which the UN has described as reliable.