United Nations: 70% of Victims in Gaza Are Women and Children

OHCHR, the UN human rights office, announced that it found that nearly 70% of the casualties in the Gaza Strip were children and women, indicating a “systematic violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality.” And the fact that these attacks continue to uniformly kill the entire population “demonstrates a clear indifference to civilian deaths and the impact of the chosen means and methods of warfare.”

The presented report, which contains investigations over a six-month period from November 2023 to April 2024, describes the horrifying reality faced by the people of Gaza since October 7, 2023. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, emphasized that the imperative for Israel is full and immediate compliance with its obligations under international law and the rules of war.

“It is essential that allegations of serious violations of international law are dealt with through credible and impartial judicial bodies, and in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence is gathered and preserved,” explained Türk.

The killing of civilians and violations of international law “may in many cases constitute war crimes. If committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population in accordance with the policy of a State or organization, these violations may constitute crimes against humanity,” the United Nations further explains, stating that if these acts were committed “with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, this may also constitute genocide.”

In addition to “indiscriminate attacks,” the finger is also pointed at the complete blockade of Gaza and the Israeli government’s failure to allow humanitarian aid in.