[News] UN experts accuse 'Israel' of genocide, sexual violence in Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/un-experts-accuse--israel--of-genocide--sexual-violence-in-g>
UN experts accuse 'Israel' of genocide, sexual violence in Gaza
Al Mayadeen English
March 13, 2025
------------------------------

Israeli attacks not only resulted in the loss of critical health
infrastructure but also led to physical and mental scars.
[image: 6f83b35f-cfdb-4453-947c-d14a1dd840b1.jpeg]

   - Damages at the Al-Basma clinic are shown following Israeli shelling.
   (Dr. Ghalayini/Al-Basma Clinic)

"Israel’s" actions in Gaza meet the definition of genocidal acts, a United
Nations investigation concluded on Thursday. The report stressed that
"Israel" deliberately targeted and destroyed critical sexual and
reproductive healthcare facilities, which are essential for safe
pregnancies, deliveries, and neonatal care. It further accused Israeli
forces of using sexual violence
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/the-gaza-trials--israeli-immunity-from-sexual-violence-prose>
as a war strategy, including forced stripping, sexual harassment, and rape
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/harrowing-accounts-of-torture--abuse--and-rape-inside-israel>,
contributing to severe and long-lasting trauma for Palestinian women and
young girls.

The UN Commission of Inquiry reported that "Israel intentionally attacked
and destroyed" Gaza's primary fertility center while simultaneously
imposing a siege that blocked humanitarian aid, including medication
crucial for safe pregnancies, deliveries, and neonatal care.

"Israel" has alleged that the reports are “unfounded", but the commission
found that "Israel's" actions had severely impacted the reproductive
capacity of Palestinians in Gaza. The commission outlined two categories of
genocidal acts: "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life
calculated to bring about its physical destruction" and "imposing measures
intended to prevent births within the group."
'Israel' inflicted deep physical, mental scars on Palestinian women and
girls

The commission’s chair, Navi Pillay, stated that these violations caused
"severe immediate physical and mental harm and suffering to women and
girls," with "irreversible long-term effects on the mental health and
reproductive and fertility prospects of Palestinians."

The report also detailed the destruction of the Al-Basma IVF Centre, Gaza's
main in-vitro fertility clinic, in December 2023. The attack reportedly
destroyed around 4,000 embryos, and the commission found no credible
evidence suggesting that the clinic had any military purpose. It concluded
that the attack was aimed at preventing births among Palestinians,
constituting a genocidal act.

The commission further noted that the broader impact on pregnant,
lactating, and new mothers was unprecedented, with irreversible
consequences for the reproductive future of Gaza’s population. These acts
were described as crimes against humanity, with the commission concluding
that "Israel's" actions were an attempt to destroy the Palestinian group as
a whole.

Following public hearings in Geneva, the commission also reported that
"Israel" had directly targeted Palestinian women and girls
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/palestinians-sexually-assaulted--beaten-in-israeli-prisons>
with acts of sexual violence, including forced stripping, sexual
harassment, and assault. Women and girls have died from complications
related to pregnancy and childbirth due to the blockade, and the commission
categorized these acts as crimes against humanity and the war crime of
willful killing.

*Read more: 'Israel' after every form of life in Gaza, destroys 4,000 IVF
embryos
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--after-every-form-of-life-in-gaza--destroys-4-000-iv>*
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