Nearly 70 percent of those killed in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza are women and children, according to a new UN Human Rights Office report that calls the pattern “a systematic violation” of international humanitarian law.
The 32-page document, covering November 2023 to April 2024, reveals that children aged five to nine constitute the largest group of verified deaths.
Around 80 percent of victims were killed in residential buildings, with children accounting for 44 percent and women for 26 percent of these casualties.
“It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies”, said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk, calling for the preservation of evidence.
The UN statement criticised Israel’s continued military operations, saying they show “an apparent indifference to the death of civilians and the impact of the means and methods of warfare selected”.
Israel has killed at least 43,000 Palestinians, with 102,000 wounded, since the October 7 attack by Hamas. It has also killed around 3,000 in Lebanon and Syria, while around 3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the war.
Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.
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