{"id":300607,"date":"2026-02-20T07:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T07:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/300607\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T07:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T07:20:07","slug":"fears-of-ethnic-cleansing-in-gaza-and-the-west-bank-un-rights-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/300607\/","title":{"rendered":"Fears of ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank: UN rights report"},"content":{"rendered":"

The report\u00a0covers the period\u00a0from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025\u00a0and\u00a0is based\u00a0on\u00a0monitoring conducted by OHCHR<\/a> and information from governmental sources, other UN\u00a0entities\u00a0and non-governmental organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIntensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire\u00a0neighbourhoods\u00a0and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza,\u201d\u00a0it said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThis, together with forcible transfers, which appear to aim at a permanent displacement, raise concerns over ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Killing, famine and destruction in Gaza\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0details the continued killing and maiming of unprecedented numbers of civilians by Israeli forces\u00a0in Gaza, the spread of famine\u00a0in the enclave, and the destruction of the remaining civilian infrastructure\u00a0such as\u00a0hospitals,\u00a0schools\u00a0and\u00a0homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was\u00a0\u201cimposing on Palestinians conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence in\u00a0Gaza\u00a0as a group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0patterns of deadly attacks\u00a0witnessed\u00a0in Gaza raised grave concerns that Israeli forces intentionally targeted civilians and civilian objects,\u00a0and launched attacks knowing that the loss of life,\u00a0injury\u00a0or damage\u00a0\u201cwould be clearly excessive in relation to the military advantage anticipated,\u00a0which would constitute war crimes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

At\u00a0least 25,594 Palestinians were killed,\u00a0and 68,837 injured, during the reporting period, according to the Gaza health authorities\u00a0which OHCHR verification confirmed is reliable.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than 68,800 Palestinians have been killed,\u00a0and 170,664\u00a0injured, since\u00a0the start of hostilities on 7 October 2023\u00a0following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel.\u00a0\u00a0The actual death toll is likely to be higher\u00a0as the figure does not account for\u00a0persons\u00a0buried under rubble.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Death by starvation\u00a0<\/p>\n

At\u00a0least 463 Palestinians,\u00a0including 157 children, starved to death in Gaza during the reporting period.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation of famine and malnutrition was the direct result of actions taken by the Israeli Government,\u201d the report\u00a0said, which included\u00a0blocking\u00a0the\u00a0entry and distribution of humanitarian aid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war\u00a0constitutes\u00a0a war\u00a0crime,\u00a0and\u00a0may also constitute crimes against humanity if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Furthermore,\u00a0\u201cif committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, it may also constitute genocide.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Use of force in the West Bank\u00a0<\/p>\n

In\u00a0the\u00a0occupied\u00a0West Bank, the report\u00a0detailed\u00a0the systematic unlawful use of force by Israeli security forces \u201cincluding through the continued deployment of means and methods designed for warfare;\u201d\u00a0widespread arbitrary\u00a0arrest,\u00a0torture\u00a0and other ill-treatment of Palestinians in detention, and destruction of property.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These acts were used \u201cto systematically discriminate, oppress, control and dominate the Palestinian people\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report also\u00a0noted\u00a0concerning incidents of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by Palestinian Authority\u00a0security forces, including\u00a0during large-scale militarized operations\u00a0targeting persons wanted by Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hostages as bargaining tools\u00a0<\/p>\n

The reporting period also saw\u00a0Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups continue to hold Israeli and foreign hostages seized on 7 October 2023 \u2014 along with the bodies of those who died or were killed in captivity \u2014 as bargaining tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cVideos previously released and public testimonies of released hostages have indicated sexual and other gender-based violence, torture and other ill-treatment, including beating, prolonged confinement underground, and deprivation of food, water and bathroom access,\u201d\u00a0the report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u00a0recalled that\u00a0taking hostages and\u00a0subjecting them to\u00a0such treatment and conditions\u00a0\u201cbreach multiple provisions of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes and possibly other atrocity crimes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Impunity and inaction\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report\u00a0also\u00a0detailed\u00a0a \u201cpervasive climate of impunity\u201d for gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law by the Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territory.\u00a0No\u00a0meaningful steps have been taken\u00a0towards accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cImpunity is not abstract \u2013 it kills.\u00a0Accountability is indispensable. It is the prerequisite for a just and durable peace in Palestine and Israel,\u201d said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Call for justice\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under\u00a0recommendations, the report urged\u00a0all States \u201cto cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel\u201d\u00a0facilitating\u00a0violations in the occupied Palestinian territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It noted the continued efforts to advance the US-led Comprehensive Plan to End the Conflict in Gaza, announced last October; however,\u00a0the absence of any steps to ensure accountability for violations since\u00a07\u00a0October\u00a02023\u00a0represents\u00a0a critical gap.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report insisted that \u201cjustice for victims must lay the foundation for the reconstruction of Gaza,\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0called\u00a0on States to ensure\u00a0the\u00a0immediate participation\u00a0of Palestinians\u00a0in governance structures to\u00a0determine\u00a0and shape\u00a0the\u00a0reconstruction of\u00a0the enclave.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The report\u00a0covers the period\u00a0from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025\u00a0and\u00a0is based\u00a0on\u00a0monitoring conducted by OHCHR and information from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300608,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-300607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}