By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The high number of fatalities per attack was principally due to the Israeli use of weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas.

Close to 70 percent of Palestinians killed in Gaza are children and women, “indicating a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law,” according to a new report by the UN Human Rights Office.

The detailed analysis of violations covers the six months from November 2023 to April 2024, and broadly examines the killing of civilians and breaches of international law that in many instances could amount to war crimes, the office said in a press statement.

“If committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, further to a State or organizational policy, these violations may constitute crimes against humanity,” the report states. “And if committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, they may also constitute genocide.”

ICJ Requirements

The report states that “the International Court of Justice, in its series of orders on provisional measures, underscored the international obligations of Israel to prevent, protect against and punish acts of genocide and associated prohibited conduct.”

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk stressed the imperative for Israel fully and immediately to comply with those obligations.

“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 and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved,” he said.

The horrific reality for people of #Gaza & #Israel since 7 October 2023 detailed in @UNHumanRights report.

Close to 70% of those killed in Gaza are children & women.

Unprecedented violations of IHL give rise to concerns of atrocity crimes. The violence must stop immediately.

— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) November 8, 2024

The office has been verifying the personal details of those killed in Gaza by strikes, shelling, and other conduct of hostilities, and of those fatalities, “it has so far found close to 70 per cent to be children and women, indicating a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality.”

The continuation of these attacks, killing evenly across the population, “demonstrates an apparent indifference to the death of civilians and the impact of the means and methods of warfare selected”, the report stated.

Three Age Categories

The most represented of verified fatalities are children, the report found. The three categories of age most represented were children aged from 5 to 9 years old, children from 10 to 14 years old, and babies and children from 0 to 4 years old.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE: About 70% of the verified victims of the Gaza war were women and children. pic.twitter.com/xj9WqdZNty

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 8, 2024

Of the verified fatalities, about 80 percent were killed in residential buildings or similar housing, out of which 44 percent were children and 26 percent were women.

The high number of fatalities per attack was principally due to the Israeli use of weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas, the office said.

White Phosphorus

The report also raises concerns with respect to forcible transfer, attacks on hospitals, in apparent systematic fashion, and journalists. It also points to the reported use of white phosphorus munitions.

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“Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of killing, and injury of civilians is a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law – namely the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack,” Türk said.

“Tragically, these documented patterns of violations continue unabated, over one year after the start of the war,” he added.

“The trends and patterns of violations, and of applicable international law as clarified by the International Court of Justice, must inform the steps to be taken to end the current crisis,” the High Commissioner stressed.

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

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According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,508 Palestinians have been killed, and 102,684 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Millions Displaced

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(PC, Anadolu)