UN report accuses Israel of committing genocidal acts through 'systematic destruction' of sexual, reproductive healthcare facilities

Israel has "systematically" destroyed sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities in Gaza while employing sexual, reproductive, and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians since October 2023, amounting to genocidal acts, according to a report issued Thursday by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.

The report, based on evidence gathered by the commission, details an alarming rise in sexual and gender-based violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, calling it a strategic tool used by Israel to dominate and terrorize Palestinians.

"There is no escape from the conclusion that Israel has employed sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians to terrorize them and perpetuate a system of oppression that undermines their right to self-determination," said Navi Pillay, chair of the commission.

The report highlights various forms of abuse, including forced public stripping, sexual harassment, threats of rape, and sexual assault, which it describes as part of Israeli security forces' standard operating procedures. More severe violations, such as rape and violence to the genitals, were committed either under explicit orders or with implicit encouragement from Israel's top civilian and military leadership, the report alleges.

The commission also found that Israeli settlers in the West Bank have committed sexual and gender-based crimes to instill fear and force Palestinian communities to flee, with little to no accountability from the Israeli justice system.

One of the most severe findings in the report is Israel's systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities in Gaza. The commission said Israeli forces have targeted maternity wards and Gaza's only in-vitro fertility clinic while preventing humanitarian aid from reaching pregnant women and newborns.

These acts, the report said, amount to crimes against humanity, including extermination, by denying Palestinian women and girls access to reproductive healthcare.

The report argued that Israel has "destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group," which it classifies as genocidal acts under the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention.

The commission also documented a sharp increase in female fatalities in Gaza, attributing the deaths to Israel's strategy of targeting residential buildings and using heavy explosives in densely populated areas. Women and girls, including maternity patients, have been among those directly targeted, acts that the commission said constitute "the crime against humanity of murder and the war crime of willful killing."

The findings were presented alongside two days of public hearings in Geneva on March 11-12, where victims, witnesses, and medical personnel provided testimony.

Pillay emphasized the need for accountability, calling for the prosecution of perpetrators through the International Criminal Court and national courts under universal jurisdiction.

"The lack of action by Israel's military justice system sends a clear message that members of the Israeli Security Forces can continue committing such acts without fear of accountability," she said.