UN experts have accused Israel of carrying out “genocidal acts” against Palestinians in Gaza, including destroying women’s healthcare facilities and using sexual violence as a war strategy. The report says that Israeli authorities systematically destroyed the reproductive capacity of Palestinians, imposed measures intended to prevent births, and used forced public stripping and sexual assault as punishment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the report’s findings, calling them “biased and antisemitic.” However, UN experts say that their actions amount to the crime against humanity of extermination. The commission also accused Israel’s security forces of using physical and psychological abuse against Palestinians who were kidnapped by Israeli forces.
The accusations come as a follow-up to previous reports by the same commission, which previously accused Hamas of serious rights violations in October 2023. The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide during the war against Hamas. South Africa has also brought a genocide case against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The report was released on Thursday, and its findings are likely to spark controversy. The Israeli government has stated that it has policies in place to prohibit such misconduct, but UN experts say that these claims are not backed up by evidence.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-experts-accuse-israel-genocidal-acts-sexual-violence-gaza-2025-03-13