UN report accuses Israel of ‘genocidal acts,’ sexual and gender-based violence in Gaza [Video]

A new United Nations report says Israel used sexual and gender-based violence as a war strategy in Gaza, and carried out “genocidal acts” against Palestinians through the systematic destruction of women’s health-care facilities.

In a report published Thursday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, examined the widespread destruction of the territory, the use of heavy explosives in civilian areas and Israeli attacks on hospitals and health facilities.

The 49-page report found that all three factors led to “disproportionate violence against women and children.”

“The evidence collected by the Commission reveals a deplorable increase in sexual and gender-based violence,” said commission chair and former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay.

“There is no escape from the conclusion that Israel has employed sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians to terrorize them and perpetuate a system of oppression that undermines their right to self-determination.”