Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Watch reported on Friday that nearly 70 percent of confirmed casualties in the ongoing conflict in Gaza are women and children. The organization condemned the "systematic violation of the basic principles of international humanitarian law", emphasizing its concerns about the principles of distinction and proportionality in hostilities, reports "Reuters", quoted by News.bg.
The UN report covers the first seven months of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which began more than a year ago. During this period, the UN documented 8,119 casualties, significantly less than the more than 43,000 deaths reported by Palestinian health authorities for the entire 13-month duration of the conflict.
According to the UN report, 44% of the victims were children, with the largest group being those between the ages of five and nine, followed by children between the ages of 10 and 14, and children up to the age of four. The report describes these figures as indicative of insufficient precautions being taken to avoid civilian casualties.
The report also stated that in 88 percent of the cases, five or more people were killed in a single strike, suggesting the use of long-range weapons by Israeli forces. The youngest victim documented by the UN is a one-day-old newborn boy, and the oldest is a 97-year-old woman.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for credible and impartial judicial oversight of alleged violations of international law and stressed the importance of gathering and preserving evidence during ongoing investigations.
Israel, which launched its military offensive after a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that left around 1,200 Israelis dead and over 250 hostages taken, has yet to officially respond to the report.