UN rights office reports that almost 70% of the fatalities in the Gaza conflict are women and children

The U.N. Human Rights Office reported on Friday that nearly 70% of the fatalities it has confirmed in the Gaza conflict were women and children, denouncing what it described as a systematic breach of fundamental international humanitarian law principles.

This U.N. assessment pertains to the initial seven months of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, which commenced over a year ago. The 8,119 verified victims during this period is significantly lower than the more than 43,000 casualties reported by Palestinian health authorities for the entire 13 months of the conflict.

However, the U.N.’s analysis of the victims’ age and gender supports the Palestinian claim that a substantial number of those killed in the war are women and children.

The report highlights “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction and proportionality,” according to a statement from the U.N. rights office that accompanied the 32-page report.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk emphasized the necessity for accountability regarding serious allegations of international law violations, calling for credible and impartial judicial processes, while also stressing the importance of collecting and preserving all relevant information and evidence in the interim.

Israel has not provided an immediate response to the findings of the report. The Israeli military, which initiated its offensive following the October 7, 2023 attack that resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 individuals in southern Israel and the abduction of over 250 hostages by Hamas fighters, asserts that it strives to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.

The military claims that for every fighter killed, roughly one civilian has also died, attributing this ratio to Hamas’s tactics of utilizing civilian infrastructure. Hamas has refuted these allegations, denying the use of civilians and civilian facilities, such as hospitals, as shields.

YOUNGEST VICTIM AGED ONE DAY

According to the report, the youngest verified victim was a one-day-old infant, while the oldest was a 97-year-old woman.

Children accounted for 44% of the total victims, with those aged five to nine forming the largest age group, followed by children aged 10 to 14, and then those aged four and younger. This distribution aligns with the demographics of the enclave, indicating a significant lack of measures taken to prevent civilian casualties.

The data indicated that in 88% of instances, five or more individuals lost their lives in a single attack, highlighting the Israeli military’s deployment of munitions capable of affecting a broad area. However, it also noted that some casualties might have resulted from stray projectiles fired by Palestinian armed factions.