Both Israel And Hamas Committed War Crimes; Says United Nations Commission Of Inquiry

A United Nations Commission of inquiry said both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes and grave violations of international law during the first months of the Israel-Hamas war started on 7th October 2023. The findings were from two parallel reports, one focusing on Hamas attacks on 7th October 2023 and another on Israel’s military response.

Israel, which has refused to cooperate with the body, accused it of bias and rejected the allegations. The report said, Israeli forces had committed acts including forced starvation, murder or willful killing, collective punishment and intentional attacks on civilians while military wings of Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups had performed deliberate killings and mistreatment of civilians and hostage-takings.

Despite denials by Hamas’ military wing, the report said human rights experts had documented cases indicative of  violence against women and men near the site of a large music festival, a military outpost and several kibbutzim that the raiders attacked.

The expert panel was commissioned by the UN-backed Human Rights Council to look into rights violations and abuses in Israel and the Palestinian areas it controls. The report is due to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council next week.