A United Nations investigative committee issued a new report on Wednesday regarding the "Occupied Palestinian Territories," stating that "Israeli authorities are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during military operations and attacks in the Gaza Strip since October 7." According to the committee, which was formed in May 2021, Israel is also responsible for sexual violence during the war.

Additionally, the committee confirmed that Israeli authorities are responsible for using starvation as a method of warfare, deliberate killing, directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forced displacement, torture and inhumane treatment, arbitrary detention, and assaults on personal dignity. Conversely, the committee noted that armed Palestinian groups are also responsible for war crimes committed in Israel.

The committee's investigation into the events of October 7 and their aftermath is based on interviews with victims and witnesses, some conducted remotely and others during visits to Turkey and Egypt. The investigation also included thousands of elements collected from open sources and verified through advanced forensic analysis, hundreds of requests made to subpoena evidence, satellite images, and forensic reports.

Israel boycotted the committee and refused to cooperate, citing the backgrounds of the committee's chair and its members. Consequently, the committee accused Israel of "obstructing investigations and preventing access to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories."

The report emphasized that "the overwhelming number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip and the widespread destruction of civilian property and infrastructure are the inevitable outcomes of a strategy that deliberately aims to cause the maximum degree of harm, disregarding the principles of distinction, proportionality, and providing adequate precautions."

The report stated, "The intentional use of heavy weaponry with significant destructive capabilities in densely populated areas constitutes a direct and intentional attack on civilian populations." It noted that statements by Israeli officials, including those reflecting policies of widespread destruction and civilian casualties, amount to incitement and could constitute serious international crimes.

The committee added that direct and public incitement to genocide is a crime under international law, even when carried out by individuals who do not have direct authority over hostilities. Incitement to discrimination or hostility or violence is a serious violation of international human rights law and may constitute an international crime.

Commenting on Israel's issuance of hundreds of eviction orders for residents in northern Gaza and other areas, the committee stated that "the orders were often inadequate, unclear, and contradictory, and failed to provide sufficient time for safe evacuation."

The committee added, furthermore, that "the evacuation routes and designated safe areas were subjected to continuous attacks by Israeli forces." The committee determined that these actions collectively constitute forced displacement.

The committee also concluded that Israel imposed a "total siege" amounting to collective punishment against civilian populations. It stated that Israeli authorities used the blockade and supplies of essential goods for survival as weapons to achieve strategic and political gains, including cutting off water, food, electricity, fuel, and humanitarian aid.

The report noted that "the blockade disproportionately affected pregnant women and persons with disabilities, including severe harm to children leading to preventable deaths due to hunger, including infants."

The report pointed out that some forms of sexual violence and gender-based violence are part of the operational patterns of Israeli security forces. It stated, "Due to their frequency, prevalence, and severity, these violations, including public exposure and humiliation, aim to degrade the entire community and assert the subjugation of the occupied people."

Regarding the West Bank, the committee clarified that Israeli forces committed acts of sexual violence, torture, inhumane or cruel treatment, and assaults on personal dignity. The committee asserted that "all these matters constitute war crimes," adding that "the Israeli government and forces allowed, encouraged, and incited a campaign of violence by settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank."

The committee also addressed Hamas's crimes, stating that during the October 7 attack, the military wing of the organization and six other armed groups "were responsible for war crimes including deliberate attacks on civilian targets, intentional killing, torture, inhumane or cruel treatment, destruction or seizure of enemy property, and hostage-taking including of children."

Additionally, the committee noted that "the indiscriminate firing of thousands of rockets toward Israeli cities and towns, resulting in civilian casualties and injuries, also constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law."

According to the report, "Members of armed Palestinian groups, sometimes with the assistance of Palestinians in civilian clothing, deliberately killed, injured, tortured, and took hostages, including children, and committed acts of sexual violence and violence against civilians and Israeli security personnel, some of whom were no longer participating in hostilities and should not have been targeted."

The committee identified patterns indicating sexual violence and concluded that these were not isolated incidents, but rather similar events that occurred in several locations, primarily against Israeli women.

As part of its recommendations, the committee called on the Israeli government to "implement an immediate ceasefire, end the blockade imposed on Gaza, ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and stop harming civilians and civilian infrastructure."

Furthermore, it urged Israel to fulfill its legal obligations under International Court of Justice orders regarding interim measures issued on January 26, March 28, and May 24, particularly by allowing the committee access to Gaza for investigations. Additionally, it recommended that all states parties to the Rome Statute fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court.

The committee also appealed to Palestinian leaders and de facto authorities in Gaza, urging them to immediately cease all rocket fire toward Israel, unconditionally release all hostages, conduct thorough and impartial investigations, and prosecute individuals suspected of committing violations, including those committed in Israel since October 7 by members of non-State armed Palestinian groups.

The full report by the committee is scheduled to be presented to the 56th session of the Human Rights Council next Wednesday in Geneva. The release of the main report will be accompanied by two additional detailed reports presenting the findings. The first report presents the committee’s findings regarding the October 7 attack in Israel, while the second report presents findings related to Israeli military operations and attacks in Gaza until the end of 2023.

The chair of the committee, Navi Pillay, stated: "It is essential to hold accountable all those who have committed crimes. The only way to stop the cycles of recurring violence, including aggression and retaliatory acts from both sides, is to ensure strict adherence to international law."

She added: "Israel must immediately stop its military actions and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah, which claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians and caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands to unsafe areas lacking basic services and humanitarian aid.

She continued: "Hamas and armed Palestinian groups must immediately cease rocket fire and release all hostages. Hostage-taking is a war crime."

Pillay served as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014 and was responsible for establishing four investigative committees that focus solely on Israel. She oversaw the publication of the Goldstone report, appointed the anti-Israel activist Richard Falk as Special Rapporteur on Palestinian issues, and approved the Durban II conference attended by former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Other members of the committee also have questionable backgrounds concerning their work on Israel, according to the Hebrew newspaper 'Yedioth Ahronoth.'

In response, the Israeli embassy to the UN in Geneva stated: "Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7 during an Israeli holiday. Today, on the holiday of Shavuot, Pillay's investigative committee chose to release its latest biased report, attacking Israel." This decision reflects the systemic discrimination against Israel practiced by this investigative committee, which was born in sin in 2021 while Hamas was raining down rockets on Israeli civilians.

The embassy added that "the investigative committee is attempting to justify the heinous terrorist attack that occurred on October 7 by placing it in the context of the Palestinian narrative." "It does not mention decades of terrorism or the ongoing rocket fire over Israeli territory. The reports ignore Hamas's insidious use of human shields and its deliberate strategy of placing civilians in the line of fire. However, regarding Israel, the report has no problem blaming Israel for its supposed failure to protect its residents on October 7."

Moreover, the embassy pointed out that "the report grotesquely and disgustingly tries to draw a false equivalence between Israel Defense Forces soldiers and Hamas terrorists regarding acts of sexual violence. Israel rejects the vile and unethical accusations directed against the Israel Defense Forces regarding its military operation in Gaza and its initial military response to Hamas terrorists in Israel. Hamas is a terrorist organization operating outside the law. Israel is a democratic state committed to the rule of law. The Israel Defense Forces operate in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law, and have strong and independent mechanisms for monitoring and investigating their actions."

Israeli Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Merav Elhanan Shachar, stated that "the investigative committee has once again proven that all its actions serve a narrow political agenda against Israel. Today's reports confirm what we have repeatedly said: Pillay's committee will never bring justice to Israeli victims of terrorism."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the report, describing it as "full of false allegations and blood libels against IDF soldiers."

"The report describes a fictional reality where decades of terrorist attacks have disappeared, there are no ongoing rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, and there is no democratic state defending itself against a terrorist attack. This is yet another example of the low point to which the organization has sunk. The agreement was reached during the tenure of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres."