Israel and Hamas guilty of war crimes, says UN body

A UN investigation has accused Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity on and since 7 October, the date of Hamas's surprise attack on Israel.

- Emma Graham-Harrison , Peter Beaumont

The allegations were contained in two parallel reports prepared by a commission of inquiry formed in 2021 by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate human rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, chaired by the former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay.

The first report focused on crimes committed by Palestinian armed groups during the 7 October attack, while the second examined Israel's culpability in the large-scale deaths of civilians in the subsequent Israeli offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

Pillay, a South African legal expert, is viewed with hostility by Israel for her previous criticism of Israel's human rights record. The reports constitute the first in-depth investigation into the events since 7 October by a UN body.

The commission, which has no power to impose any penalties, described serious crimes committed by both sides in the conflict, including by Palestinian armed groups during the attack on Israeli communities near the border with Gaza on 7 October.

It accuses Hamas's military wing and six other Palestinian armed groups - aided in some instances by Palestinian civilians - of killings, torture, sexual violence and systematic kidnapping.

"Many abductions were carried out with significant physical, mental and sexual violence and 28 degrading and humiliating treatment, including in some cases parading the abductees," the report said. "Women and women's bodies were used as victory trophies by male perpetrators."

In a statement, the panel said it had identified a pattern of sexual violence by Hamas and concluded these were not isolated incidents, but similar events occurring in different locations. The report also described the desecration of bodies, including in a sexualised way, as well as decapitations and burning.