An independent U.N. commission said Tuesday that the Israeli military had deliberately targeted children in Gaza, amounting to genocide, and in the West Bank, amounting to war crimes.
An independent U.N. commission said this week that the Israeli military had deliberately targeted children in Gaza, amounting to genocide, and in the West Bank, amounting to war crimes. The commission of inquiry, which called on international bodies to hold Israeli officials to account, is composed of three senior international jurists and chaired by the former Indian judge Srinivasan Muralidhar.
In earlier conclusions released in September, it said the Israeli military campaign in Gaza met the legal definition of genocide - a finding echoed by a growing group of genocide experts, including some Israeli scholars and human rights organisations. After reviewing Israeli actions affecting Palestinian children in particular, the commission said it found a pattern of behaviour - including the deliberate shooting of children by soldiers; the destruction of hospitals, maternity care centres and schools in Gaza; and the indiscriminate use of explosive munitions - that reflected a strategy to destroy the future of Palestinians and reaffirmed the commission’s earlier conclusion that Israel harboured genocidal intent. Israeli forces continued to target children in Gaza after a ceasefire was reached with Hamas in October, Muralidhar said.
