UN Report Accuses Israel of ‘Deliberate War Crimes’ Against Gaza’s Healthcare System

“This is just not reporting what we see on social media, but a very carefully fact-checked account of the destruction of hospitals, the deliberate targeting of doctors,” Pillay told Al-Jazeera.

“It’s also the first United Nations report that … drew the conclusion there is the deliberate targeting of healthcare workers, the healthcare system in itself – which is a crime, a war crime,” she added.

Israel makes it difficult to probe its deadly attacks by denying entry to independent investigators, Pillay continued.

The report, delivered on Wednesday, concluded, “Israel has perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a broader assault on the Strip, committing war crimes and a crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities.”

The UN Secretary-General’s Spokesman Stephane Dujarric also said that the third floor of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Northern Gaza has been bombed on Thursday, resulting in the loss of crucial medical supplies delivered five days ago.

“This and the delivery had been done by the United Nations through a joint mission of the World Health Organization,” Dujarric said.

“Hospitals are under assault and rescue teams are unable to work due to the arrest of personnel and the confiscation of essential equipment, including ambulances and a fire truck. The scale of destruction is overwhelming affecting nearly every area of the Gaza Strip in the North,” Dujarric added.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Israel has systematically targeted civilian facilities including schools, hospitals and places of worship amid its ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Under the rules of war, targeting such civilian facilities can constitute a war crime.

Israel’s October-present genocidal war on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 43,200 people, mostly children and women, and injured over 101,600 others.

The figures exclude tens of thousands of dead who are believed to be buried in the bombed-out ruins of homes, shops, shelters and other buildings.

The military campaign has turned much of the besieged enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.