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Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), launched its latest report which covers the period between 7 October 2023 and 31 May 2025 following Hamas-led attacks on Israel and Israel\u2019s subsequent assault on Gaza.<\/p>\n
It documents large-scale violations of international law, including atrocity crimes, and points to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by Israeli and Palestinian parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne year later, despite the ceasefire concluded in October 2025, the lasting consequences of the patterns we documented are apparent<\/strong>,\u201d said Mr. Sunghay.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ceasefire diminished the immense scale of violence up that point and opened some modest humanitarian space. But killings and the destruction of infrastructure have continued on an almost daily basis, and the overall humanitarian situation remains dire. All while Hamas continues its own violations, including against the people of Gaza<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n The reporting period saw unprecedented levels of killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces, the tightening and escalation of Israeli control over Palestinians and their land, and \u201cconcerning conduct\u201d by Palestinian authorities and armed groups such as indiscriminate rocket fire against Israel and the taking of hostages.<\/p>\n Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity when they attacked civilians in Israel on and after 7 October 2023, killed at least 1,124 people, seized hostages and fired thousands of unguided missiles into Israeli territory for over a year.<\/p>\n \u201cReleased hostages have provided credible accounts of torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence,\u201d said Mr. Sunghay.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, \u201cIsrael unleashed devastating violence and dispossession in Gaza and the West Bank, committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He noted that the report found that the totality of Israeli conduct in Gaza raises serious concern about the country\u2019s compliance with its obligation to prevent acts within the scope of\u00a0the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact remains that Palestinians have no means to ensure their survival or to protect their loved ones, with hundreds killed since the announcement of a ceasefire<\/strong>,\u201d Mr. Sunghay said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Israeli military has killed 72,769 Palestinians since 7 October 2023 in Gaza: in their homes, in IDP shelters, in hospitals, in schools, in places of worship, on the streets, while queuing for aid, while trying to fish in the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreover, \u201cthe Israeli blockade on Gaza resulted in starvation and famine that was foretold and later confirmed<\/strong>,\u201d and hundreds died.\u00a0 He stressed that \u201cany use of starvation as a method of war against civilians is a war crime, and it may amount to a crime against humanity and even genocide in certain conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Sunghay also addressed displacement in Gaza which has raised concerns about ethnic cleansing and forcible transfer. People have fled neighbourhoods which are now gone \u201cas Israeli forces continue to unlawfully demolish buildings across Gaza \u2013 homes still laden with thousands of unretrieved Palestinian bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n Regarding the West Bank, he said that the rate of forcible displacement \u201cis unseen in decades\u201d, describing Israeli settlement expansion there as \u201cunprecedented\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIsraeli military and police forces and settlers are killing more and more Palestinians with impunity, often together<\/strong>,\u201d he added. Since the 7 October attacks, they have killed 1,096 Palestinians, with children making up around 20 per cent, or one in five.<\/p>\n \u201cSettler attacks are routinely carried out with the support, acquiescence, or participation of Israeli security forces<\/strong>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Israeli Government has intensified the militarisation of the settler movement, shielded them from accountability, and now actively benefits from settler violence as a catalyst for its stated annexation agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Sunghay said the dispossession in the West Bank is \u201cmatched in intensity with the record rate of settlement expansion\u201d which has increased by 80 per cent since the Government took office<\/strong>, with 102 new settlements added to the 127 that existed previously.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Furthermore, 33,000 Palestinians displaced from three refugee camps last year \u2013 Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams \u2013 are still unable to return to their homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIsraeli authorities are forcing Palestinians out of their homes around the Old City in East Jerusalem at alarming levels<\/strong>, turning their properties over to settlers, or making room for settlement projects including a park and a cable car project,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The report also documented other patterns that have persisted, including the torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody, which includes sexual violence and even rape, denial of sufficient food and medical care.<\/p>\n \u201cDiscriminatory practices have further reinforced Israel\u2019s violation of the prohibition of apartheid and racial segregation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He noted that overall, not enough is being done to stop these violations.<\/p>\nDeadly attacks, devastating violence<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Blockade, starvation and displacement<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2018Unprecedented\u2019 settlement expansion<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Unable to return home<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2018Impunity fuels recurrence\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n