The United Nations Independent Commission announced on June 10, 2025, that Israeli military attacks aimed at schools and religious sites in Gaza could amount to crimes against humanity, specifically the extermination of civilians sheltering in those locations.
The report, scheduled for presentation to the UN Human Rights Council on June 17, documents that over 90% of school and university buildings, as well as more than half of the religious and cultural sites in Gaza, have been destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire.
The commission, chaired by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, concluded that these targeted attacks are part of a systematic campaign to destroy Palestinian community life. The findings indicate strong evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes.
Israel withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council in February, accusing the body of bias, and responded to this latest report by dismissing it as an attempt to spread a fictitious narrative about the Gaza conflict, purportedly favoring the protection of civilians there.
The report also highlights abuses and arrests of educators and students in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, including the targeting of women suspected of potentially mobilizing support for Gaza’s civilian population.
These findings come amid growing international pressure to halt the escalating conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives since October 2023 and fueled widespread concerns over a worsening humanitarian crisis.
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