UN commission says Israel is seeking “deliberate” destruction of Gaza’s health system – POLITICO

Commission chairwoman Navi Pillay, who previously served as high commissioner for human rights, said: “Israel must immediately stop its unprecedented wanton destruction of health facilities in Gaza.”

“By targeting health facilities, Israel is targeting the right to health itself, which has significant long-term harmful effects on civilians.”

Attacks on hospitals are classified as war crimes by the International Criminal Court, but hospitals can also lose their protected status under international law if they are used for military purposes. Israel justifies its attacks on health facilities in the Gaza Strip by claiming that Hamas is using them to further its military goals. However, Hamas denies hiding fighters, weapons and command posts among civilians.

The UN investigation also examined the treatment of both Palestinian detainees in Israel and hostages seized from Hamas militants in the October 7, 2023 attack. The statement accused both sides of involvement in torture and sexual violence.

Israel has been at loggerheads with the United Nations for months and on Wednesday declared the organization’s secretary general, António Guterres, “undesirable” and banned him from entering the country.

Guterres said last October that the Hamas attack “did not happen in a vacuum” and repeatedly condemned the Israeli military’s killing of civilians in Gaza. Israel had already called for Guterres’ overthrow in January.