A United Nations investigation released on Thursday has concluded that Israel committed acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip by systematically targeting and destroying reproductive health care facilities.
The findings, presented by the UN Commission of Inquiry, highlight the deliberate actions taken by Israeli authorities to partially destroy the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza, a violation that falls under two categories of genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention.
The Convention outlines genocide as any act committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, or religious group. The investigation determined that Israel engaged in at least two of the five acts specified in the Convention, including “deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the group” and “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”
A shocking new report from the UN Independent Inquiry documents a systemic pattern of sexual and gender-based violence by Israeli forces, and finds that Israel carried out “genocidal acts” through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities in… pic.twitter.com/ONopE0xMl3
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The report, chaired by Navi Pillay, emphasized the devastating impact of these actions on Palestinian women and girls. Pillay stated,
These violations not only caused severe direct physical and psychological harm to women and girls, but also had long-term, irreversible consequences for the psychological and reproductive health and fertility prospects of Palestinians as a whole.
The investigation revealed that Israel carried out systematic attacks on Gaza’s health infrastructure, including hospitals and clinics that provided reproductive health services. This destruction has rendered the health sector nearly incapable of caring for pregnant women and newborns, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The report further highlighted the severe restrictions imposed on essential medical supplies and medicines, which have significantly deteriorated the reproductive health of women and girls in Gaza. These conditions have directly contributed to alarmingly high maternal and newborn mortality rates, underscoring the long-term consequences of the targeted destruction.
The findings have drawn international attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with calls for accountability and urgent action to address the violations. The Commission’s conclusions add to the growing body of evidence documenting the impact of the conflict on Palestinian civilians, particularly women and children.