UN report claims Israel 'genocide' in Gaza has continued after ceasefire
UN report claims Israel 'genocide' in Gaza has continued after ceasefire
A commission also alleges Israel has been taking control of more territory and turning a temporary ceasefire line into a de facto border. Israel says the claims are false and the report is another attempt to attack the country's legitimacy.
Monday 26 October 2026 22:43, UK
Israel has continued to commit genocide in Gaza despite last October's ceasefire, a UN commission claims.
It says "sustained air, artillery, drone and gunfire attacks" have persisted and "heavy and unguided munitions" are being used in built-up areas.
The report claims 1,431 people, including at least 300 children and 130 women, have been killed since the US-brokered ceasefire deal began in October 2025 and Israel is aiming to "destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in Gaza".
The report also accused Israeli soldiers and prison guards of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank, including extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence and persecution against civilians.
Israel dismissed the report as biased and part of a "misinformation campaign" to demonise the country and "destroy the Jewish state".
It has previously denied claims of genocide, insisted it only launches attacks in response to Hamas ceasefire breaches, and does all it can to avoid civilian casualties.
Monday's report was the latest by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
It also accuses Israel of expanding its control of Gaza by fortifying the temporary ceasefire line with at least nine new military bases, making it a "steadily encroaching de facto border".
The report says Israeli-controlled areas have expanded from the 53% first envisaged under the ceasefire to at least 60% today.
"Israeli authorities' failure to clearly communicate the boundaries of the Yellow Line to Palestinians in Gaza has resulted in civilian casualties when civilians unintentionally approached or crossed the line," the report states.
More than 74,000 people died during the Gaza war, according to the Hamas-run health authority, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The conflict began after about 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage in the October 2023 Hamas terror attack.
Israel has pledged to destroy Hamas in order to prevent a repeat of the atrocity.
The three-person commission - which was set up in 2021 and doesn't represent the official position of the UN's collective members - also highlights the "intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank".
The situation has "deteriorated gravely" since 7 October 2023, according to the report, which claims Israel is using the "Gaza strategy of total destruction".
It says civilians in the West Bank are being intentionally targeted due to race, ethnicity, gender and age.
Six people were killed by airstrikes in the West Bank between 2008 and 2023, the report says, but more than 250 died between October 2023 and 30 September 2026.
It claims Israeli forces have killed a total of 1,080 Palestinians in the territory, including East Jerusalem, in the same three-year period - with nearly 11,000 injured.
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The commission documented six cases and says all the victims "were unarmed and did not pose a threat" and lethal force was used without warning.
It also alleges sexual violence has been used in the West Bank to try to "displace, subjugate and destabilise the Palestinian people".
Chair of the commission Srinivasan Muralidhar said: "The intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank combined with Israel's persistent denial of responsibility form part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians and impose conditions of life that are unliveable."
'Bid to destroy Israel legitimacy'
Israel's mission to the UN called the report "another manifestation of its misinformation campaign" and an attempt to portray Israel's "very existence as criminal".
"The attempt to destroy the Jewish state did not end in 1948," said Israel's UN ambassador Daniel Meron.
"It continues today through efforts by actors such as the UN Commission of Inquiry to undermine Israel's legitimacy and deny its fundamental right to exist and defend itself."
The report comes a day before Israel holds its general election, with veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu hoping to secure another term as prime minister.
The Palestinian Authority, which oversees parts of the West Bank, also comes in for significant criticism and is accused of targeting people with dissenting views.
Human rights activists and journalists have been killed and injured, according to the report, with such incidents not properly investigated.
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