UN: Many children among the dead in the Gaza Strip
Published: Friday, Nov 8th 2024, 14:50
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According to an evaluation of verified deaths by age group, most of the victims in the Gaza Strip were children aged between five and nine. This is according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office.
Israel always asserts that the battle is aimed at fighters of the terrorist organization Hamas and that civilians are spared as much as possible.
The office has verified around 10,000 deaths for the period November 2023 to the end of August, said the head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Ajith Sunghay.
Around 80 percent died in civilian homes. 70 percent were women and minors. The second-highest number of deaths among all age groups was among ten to 14-year-olds, followed by children aged between birth and four.
The true death toll is likely to be significantly higher. Many deaths have not yet been verified and thousands of people are still believed to be buried under the rubble. Sunghay could not say whether the evaluation is representative of all victims.
According to independently unverifiable information from the Hamas authorities, more than 40,000 people have now been killed in the Gaza Strip.
On 7 October 2023, the terrorist organization Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and other terrorist groups killed more than 1,200 people in an attack on Israel and deported another 250 to the Gaza Strip. Around 100 are still there. Israel responded with massive attacks that continue to this day. The military's aim is to destroy Hamas.
War crimes and crimes against humanity
The UN Human Rights Office reaffirms once again that war crimes and crimes against humanity may have been committed. It could also constitute genocide if population groups were to be completely or partially wiped out on the basis of ethnicity, religion or nationality, for example.
Ultimately, only international courts can determine such violations. With their investigations, human rights experts provide the basis for judicial assessments and judgments.
Offenses on both sides
The report refers, for example, to statements by Israeli politicians who have called for the destruction of the Gaza Strip and the expulsion of Palestinians. The closure of the Gaza Strip, the prevention of humanitarian aid and the destruction of homes and repeated displacement of hundreds of thousands have led to countless deaths, injuries and illnesses.
According to the report, Hamas and other armed groups also committed massive violations of the law during the attacks on October 7 with the killing of civilians, sexual violence, the destruction of homes and the taking of hostages. These could also constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel: Demonization on the part of the UN
Israel rejected all accusations. The embassy in Geneva accuses the UN Office for Human Rights of being "obsessed with demonizing Israel". It does not take into account the fact that Hamas misuses civilian infrastructure and thus deliberately harms the civilian population.
Furthermore, it was unable or unwilling to investigate how many terrorists were among the verified dead. Israel complies with all the provisions of international law, the embassy wrote.
©Keystone/SDA
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