Jurist UN reports majority of IDF casualties in Palestine are women and children in six-month update on Gaza war

[Dadparvar]

The United Nations (UN) released a six-month update on the situation in Gaza on Friday, which detailed and analyzed vast breaches human rights violations, contrary to international law, between November 2023 to April 2024. The report underscored that the majority of verified fatalities have been Palestinian children and women. The report says that the violence against citizens by armed groups may constitute crimes against humanity and genocide.

The report focuses on the impact on civilians, primarily children, women, and humanitarian actors including UN personnel living under this war, which began on October 7 2023 following decades of conflict and violence in the region. According to the report, the number of deceased Palestinians in the past six months is 8,119 “including 2,036 women and 3,588 children”. The report elaborates that the majority of these people, 7,607, “were killed in residential buildings or similar housing”. OHCHR monitoring indicated that these high fatalities can be attributed to the use of military weapons in densely populated areas. The majority of children killed are between the ages of 5-9, 10-14, and 0-4 years old.

Elaborating on these statistics, the report went on to say:

“Intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, or in the knowledge the attack would cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and overall military advantage anticipated, are war crimes. […] If committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, further to an organizational policy, they may constitute crimes against humanity. […] If committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a nation, ethnical, racial or religious group, they may also constitute genocide.”

The verified numbers underscore concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has been exacerbated by limited access to aid and Israel’s recent ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA).

The UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, comments that it is essential that countries comply with the rules of war and international law. He says that it is “essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies”, and highlights the obligations incumbent on member states to prevent genocide and war crimes, urging them to support “accountability mechanisms including the International Criminal Court”.

Genocide is a crime under international law as codified in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which also creates protection(s) against crimes against humanity. The Fourth Geneva Convention outlines international obligations during wartime, including the protection of civilians against war crimes and their inviolability during armed conflict. UN Member states are obligated under treaties and international law to prevent these crimes and can be found culpable if aiding another state in committing them. Since October 7, several Member states have initiated action against countries aiding Israel at the International Court of Justice.

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