'Israel' committing crime against humanity of extermination: UN probe
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The UN accuses Israeli troops of purposefully murdering and torturing medical professionals, targeting medical trucks, and denying patients permission to exit the Gaza Strip.
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Palestinian paramedics inspect damage in the patient rooms caused by the Israeli strikes on the maternity ward at Nasser Hospital in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. (AP)
A UN panel concluded on Thursday that "Israel" engaged in "war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities," Reuters reported.
In a statement, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay accused the Israeli occupation of "relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities" throughout the aggression, adding that “children, in particular, have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system."
Pillay's report will be delivered to the United Nations General Assembly on October 30.
According to Reuters, the UN inquiry's statement also accused Israeli troops of purposefully murdering and torturing medical professionals, targeting medical trucks, and denying patients permission to exit the Gaza Strip.
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a special report Tuesday detailing the dire health conditions in Gaza and Lebanon as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression, revealing paramount Israeli criminality in the region with over 1,000 healthcare workers in Gaza killed since the genocide began.
One example is the killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab, as well as family members and two paramedics who came to her aid after being shot at by Israeli troops. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 10,000 people in need of urgent medical evacuation have been unable to leave Gaza since the Rafah border crossing with Egypt was closed in May.
The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) has a broad scope to gather evidence and identify potential perpetrators of international crimes perpetrated in "Israel" and bases its results on a variety of sources, including interviews with victims and witnesses, submissions, and satellite images.
"Israel" has refused to assist with the probe, claiming it is biased and Col has accused the occupation of hindering its work and denying inspectors access to Gaza and occupied territories.
US doctors recount horrors of children shot in the head in Gaza: NYT
American physicians have recounted distressing tales and a pattern they witnessed while operating in Gaza: children being shot in the head, The New York Times reported.
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma and general surgeon, worked in Khan Younis, Gaza, for two weeks in March and April, and he said that he was astonished to find that other healthcare professionals had also witnessed minors being shot in the head or chest while "Israel" bombarded the strip.
The doctor revealed a chilling account of how despite working in conflict zones "nearly every day I was there, I saw a new young child who had been shot in the head or chest, virtually all of whom went on to die. Thirteen in total."
Sidhwa expressed that he believed this was due to a specific member of the Israeli occupation forces being stationed nearby where he operated.
However, upon returning to the US, he recalled telling another physician, “I couldn’t believe the number of kids I saw shot in the head."
To his amazement, the doctor responded, "Yeah, me too, every single day."
Sidhwa spoke with 65 additional healthcare workers about what they had witnessed in Gaza, and 44 of them reported seeing cases of children shot in the head or chest.
Of the 65 people who spoke about their experiences, 57 went on record.
Sidhwa demanded that the United States stop arming "Israel", accusing the occupation and the US of "turning Gaza into a howling wilderness."
“The horror must end. The United States must stop arming Israel,” Sidhwa wrote, adding that afterward, "we Americans need to take a long, hard look at ourselves."
