Ginebra. A United Nations investigation concluded Thursday that Israel carried out a concerted policy of destroying Gaza’s health system, which constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity of extermination.
A statement by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, released before the full report was published, accuses Israel of “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities” in the war that has been going on for more than a year.
“Children, in particular, have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system,” added Pillay, whose report will be presented to the UN General Assembly on October 30.
Israel claims that Hamas militants in Gaza operate in the shelter of populated and urbanized areas, such as private homes, schools and hospitals, and that it will attack them where they appear, while trying to prevent harm to the civilian population. The group denies that it hides militants, weapons and command posts among the civilian population.
The report also accuses Israeli forces of deliberately killing and torturing medical staff, attacking medical vehicles and restricting permission for patients to leave the besieged Gaza Strip.
As an example, he cited the death of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in February along with her relatives and two doctors who came to rescue her under Israeli fire.
The World Health Organization says more than 10,000 patients in need of urgent medical evacuation have not been able to leave Gaza since the Rafah border crossing with Egypt was closed in May.
The Palestinian Health Ministry says almost a thousand doctors have died in Gaza in the last year, in what the WHO called an “irreplaceable loss and massive blow to the health system.”
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