The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that nearly 70% of the victims of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip are children and women, indicating a "systematic violation of the basic principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality."

This came in a report published by the Commission, today, Friday, on violations during the period between November 2023 and April 2024, and "details in depth the killing of civilians and violations of international law, which may often amount to war crimes."

The report said that "the International Court of Justice, in a series of orders on provisional measures, affirmed Israel's international obligations to prevent, protect against and punish acts of genocide and the prohibited practices associated with it."

In turn, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stressed the need for Israel to fully and immediately comply with these obligations, saying that “this has become even more important and urgent, given the overall conduct described in the report and taking into account the latest developments, including Israel’s operations in northern Gaza and its legislation affecting UNRWA’s activities.”

He stressed that "it is imperative that there be due accountability for allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies, and in the meantime, that all relevant information and evidence be collected and preserved."

The High Commissioner recalled “the duty of States to take action to prevent atrocity crimes, and urged them to support the work of accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, as well as to exercise universal jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of crimes in national courts under international law and in line with international standards.”

The report referred to "repeated statements by Israeli officials linking the end of the conflict to the complete destruction of Gaza and the departure of the Palestinian people, and it also documents efforts aimed at justifying discrimination, aggressive acts and violence against Palestinians, and even their extermination."

The report highlighted "the brunt of the attacks on civilians," including the complete blockade imposed by the occupation forces on Gaza, in addition to the Israeli government's continued illegal denial of humanitarian aid, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and repeated mass displacement.

He pointed out that these practices by the occupation forces led to unprecedented levels of killing, death, injury, hunger, disease and epidemics.

The report raised "concerns about forced displacement, attacks on hospitals that appear to be systematic, and on journalists, as well as reports of the use of white phosphorus."

The High Commissioner called on Member States, “in line with their obligations under international law, to assess arms sales or transfers and the provision of military, logistical or financial support, with a view to ending such support if it creates a risk of a violation of international law.”

“Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of civilian killing and injury is a direct result of non-compliance with the basic principles of international humanitarian law,” he said. “Unfortunately, these documented patterns of violations continue unabated, more than a year after the war began,” he added, stressing that “the violence must stop immediately, and focus on the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”