© UNICEF/Hassan Islyeh / The Al-Rimal neighbourhood in the north of Gaza devastated by airstrikes.

By  Gary  Raynaldo   – DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Israel’s warfare in Gaza with mass civilian casualties is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a new UN Special Committee report released Thursday said.  The report accused Israel of intentionally causing death and using starvation as a method of war on the Palestinian people.

Covering the period from the start of the war in October 2023 to July 2024, the report examines developments across the occupied Palestinian territory and the occupied Syrian Golan, focusing on the “catastrophic impact” of the current war in Gaza on the rights of Palestinians.

 “Since the beginning of the war, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life — food, water, and fuel,” the report said.  

Israel’s extensive bombing campaign in Gaza has “decimated essential services” and unleashed an “environmental catastrophe” that will have lasting health impacts, the report added. By early 2024, over 25,000 tons of explosives—equivalent to two nuclear bombs—had been dropped on Gaza, the report said, “causing massive destruction and the collapse of water and sanitation systems, agricultural devastation, and toxic pollution.”

The report also raised concerns over Israel’s use of Artificial Intelligence-enhanced targeting systems it said has killed many women and children.

“The Israeli military’s use of AI-assisted targeting, with minimal human oversight, combined with heavy bombs underscores Israel’s disregard of its obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and take adequate safeguards to prevent civilian deaths.”

At least 43,736 people have been killed and 103,370 wounded in Israeli military attacks since October 2023, with 24 Palestinians killed and 112 wounded in the last 24 hours, according to Gazan health authorities.

 The report condemned the “ongoing smear campaign and other attacks” against UNRWA and the UN. 

“This deliberate silencing of reporting, combined with disinformation and attacks on humanitarian workers, is a clear strategy to undermine the vital work of the UN, sever the lifeline of aid still reaching Gaza, and dismantle the international legal order.”