A new report from the UN Human Rights office, covering the period from October 7, 2023, to May 31, 2025, documents extensive violations of international law by both Israeli and Palestinian parties following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli response in Gaza.
Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), stated that despite a ceasefire concluded in October 2025, the consequences of documented patterns of violence persist. “The ceasefire diminished the immense scale of violence up that point and opened some modest humanitarian space. But killings and the destruction of infrastructure have continued on an almost daily basis, and the overall humanitarian situation remains dire. All while Hamas continues its own violations, including against the people of Gaza,” Sunghay noted.
Violations and Deadly Attacks
The report details unprecedented killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces, increased Israeli control, and actions by Palestinian authorities and armed groups, including rocket fire and hostage-taking. Palestinian armed groups are documented to have committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity through attacks on Israeli civilians, killing at least 1,124 people, seizing hostages, and firing missiles. “Released hostages have provided credible accounts of torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence,” stated Mr. Sunghay.
Conversely, “Israel unleashed devastating violence and dispossession in Gaza and the West Bank, committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity,” he added. The report raises serious concerns about Israel’s compliance with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, particularly regarding its conduct in Gaza.
Blockade, Starvation, and Displacement
Mr. Sunghay highlighted that Palestinians lack means for survival, with hundreds killed since the ceasefire announcement. “The Israeli military has killed 72,769 Palestinians since 7 October 2023 in Gaza: in their homes, in IDP shelters, in hospitals, in schools, in places of worship, on the streets, while queuing for aid, while trying to fish in the sea.” The Israeli blockade on Gaza is identified as a cause of starvation and famine, with hundreds of deaths attributed to it. “Any use of starvation as a method of war against civilians is a war crime, and it may amount to a crime against humanity and even genocide in certain conditions,” he stressed.
Displacement in Gaza has raised concerns about ethnic cleansing and forcible transfer, with Israeli forces continuing to demolish buildings. In the West Bank, the rate of forcible displacement is described as unprecedented, with a significant increase in Israeli settlement expansion. “Israeli military and police forces and settlers are killing more and more Palestinians with impunity, often together,” Mr. Sunghay reported, noting that children constitute about 20 percent of the 1,096 Palestinians killed since October 7. He added that settler attacks are often supported or participated in by Israeli security forces, and the Israeli government is seen as intensifying the militarization of the settler movement.
Settlement expansion has increased by 80 percent since the current government took office, with 102 new settlements established. Additionally, 33,000 Palestinians displaced from three refugee camps remain unable to return home. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities are forcing Palestinians out of their homes to make way for settlers or settlement projects.
Impunity and Calls for Action
The report also documents torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees, including sexual violence, and discriminatory practices that reinforce violations of apartheid and racial segregation prohibitions. Mr. Sunghay emphasized that the ceasefire has not led to accountability for past violations or a reckoning with the underlying issue of the protracted occupation. “Impunity fuels recurrence. Most of the horrors documented here, and those documented for decades before, have gone unpunished, with no prospect of justice for the victims,” he stated.
Countries are urged to take measures under international law to end the Israeli occupation, dismantle settlements, protect civilians, ensure accountability, and uphold Palestinian human rights. “In a context like this, lack of action is not passivity. It is a license,” Mr. Sunghay concluded.
