A United Nations investigation, conducted by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), into the initial months of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Resistance's conduct during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, on October 7, has concluded that both "Israel" and Palestinian Resistance groups committed war crimes and serious breaches of international law, equating, once again, between the perpetrator and the victim.

Primarily, the report noted that October 7 marked "a clear turning point" that could "change the direction of this conflict," in such a way that holds "a real risk of further solidifying and expanding the occupation."

Israeli war crimes include definite instances of torture including children

The COI report found that Israeli authorities are responsible for "the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention, and outrages upon personal dignity."

The report detailed acts of sexual violence against men, women, and children on several occasions, stressing the presence of instances of "forced public nudity, forced public stripping, sexualized torture and abuse, and sexual humiliation and harassment."

These incidents were confirmed "based on testimonies and verified video footage and photographs" and have taken place "during ground operations in conjunction with evacuations and arrests."

Additionally, the report highlighted "that sexual violence has been perpetrated throughout the OPT during evacuation processes, prior to or during arrest, at civilian homes and at a shelter for women and girls. Sexual acts were carried out by force, including under threats, intimidation and other forms of duress, in inherently coercive circumstances due to the armed conflict and the presence of armed Israeli soldiers."

In an anger-inducing statement, the report also highlights that "Palestinians were also made to watch members of their family and community strip in public and walk completely or partially undressed while subjected to sexual harassment" and adds that "both male and female victims were subjected to such sexual violence, but men and boys were targeted in particular ways."

"The crimes against humanity of extermination, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, murder, [and] forcible transfer" were also committed, the commission found, referring to abduction by another name.
 
Alongside verbal incitement by Israeli occupation officials, which could constitute serious international crimes, the report also discussed the occupied West Bank where settler violence surged due to a pattern of conduct where the Israeli government "permitted, fostered, and instigated" such actions.

The COI found that Israeli forces committed "acts of sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, all of which are war crimes."

Moreover, Navi Pillay, chair of the commission, said in a press release that "Israel must immediately stop its military operations and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah, which has cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and again displaced hundreds of thousands of people to unsafe locations without basic services and humanitarian assistance."

In reference to the Palestinian Resistance operations, and failing to mention that they are mainly conducted in retaliation to mass murders and massacres committed by the Israeli forces against civilians in the Gaza Strip, Pillay said, "[The] indiscriminate firing of thousands of projectiles towards Israeli towns and cities resulting in death and injury of civilians are also violations of international humanitarian and human rights law … Hamas and Palestinian armed groups must immediately cease rocket attacks and release all hostages. The taking of hostages constitutes a war crime." 

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October 7 crimes claimed 'on reasonable ground' not 'beyond doubt'

According to the United Nations report, Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the Israeli war on Gaza must not be seen in "isolation". The report explained that the sole method to halt the "recurring cycles of violence," including acts of aggression and retribution from both sides, is to enforce strict compliance with international law.

What that entailed, according to the report, is "ending the unlawful Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, discrimination, oppression and the denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and guaranteeing peace and security for Jews and Palestinians."

While the occupation is a fact, there is a clear misnomer where Israeli settlers are defined as Jews when the core issue revolves around the occupation and the occupied, Palestine and the Israeli occupation, and not against a religious group as the report tried to depict. There have been multiple instances where Jewish people across the world stood against "Israel" and its atrocities in Gaza, which is rather defined through Zionism and not Judaism.

“Israel” has always misused and overused the "anti-Semitism" ploy to cast itself as a victim in disguise, when in fact it’s an oppressive occupation.

Through this constructed narrative and manipulation of narrative, “Israel” attempts to drive attention away from its massacres… pic.twitter.com/WE1dUxRr7j

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 27, 2024

Based "on reasonable grounds" and not on undeniable facts, the United Nations concluded that on October 7, "the military wings of Hamas and of other Palestinian armed groups, as well as Palestinian civilians who were directly participating in the hostilities, deliberately killed, injured, mistreated, took hostages and committed SGBV against: civilians, including Israeli citizens and foreign nationals; and members of the ISF [IOF], including soldiers considered hors de combat, in many locations in southern Israel. These actions constitute war crimes and violations and abuses of IHL and IHRL."

The report also addressed capturing Israeli settlers and foreign nationals partying adjacent to the world's largest open-air prison - the report merely referred to it as the Gaza Strip - and underscored that the Palestinian Resistance captured them "without regard for age or gender, to use them in negotiations with the Israeli authorities."

While claiming that during the capturing process, "some abductees were shot at and in some cases killed" and that "many abductions were carried out with significant physical, mental and sexual violence and degrading and humiliating treatment, including in some cases parading the abductees," the report did confirm that it was unable to verify cases of sexual abuse and rape due to the "obstruction of its investigations by the Israeli authorities."

The report reads, "The Commission has reviewed testimonies obtained by journalists and the Israeli police concerning rape but has not been able to independently verify such allegations, due to a lack of access to victims, witnesses and crime sites and the obstruction of its investigations by the Israeli authorities. The Commission was unable to review the unedited version of such testimonies. For the same reasons, the Commission was also unable to verify reports of sexualized torture and genital mutilation. Additionally, the Commission found some specific allegations to be false, inaccurate or contradictory with other evidence or statements and discounted these from its assessment."

The report further claimed that "Israeli children were subjected to physical and emotional mistreatment on 7 October," however, multiple videos and even Israeli captives who were later released expressed that the Palestinian Resistance fighters had not, in any way, harmed them, and some even said they were treated decently.

Such confessions by Israelis themselves have even caused settler-on-settler verbal violence within "Israel". Significantly, among the concluding points in the report, the Commission highlighted that it "did not find credible evidence, however, that militants received orders to commit sexual violence and so it was unable to make conclusions on this issue."

ISRAELI HOSTAGE AGAM GOLDSTEIN-ALMOG CHANGES HER TESTIMONY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN GAZA

Video 1 on the Left: “They were not allowed to touch us, women are holy for them”

Video 2 on the Right: Claim made there was rape.

It's evident that the narrative shifted after a… pic.twitter.com/lfEza4SWuS

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) February 13, 2024

The report concluded that "members of the military wing of Hamas and Palestinian armed groups targeted women, including by wilful killings, abductions, and physical, mental and sexual abuse. These crimes were deliberate and, in several cases, enforced with violence, intentionally causing great suffering and serious injury to the victims."

Additionally, it read that "the Commission particularly notes that women were subjected to GBV during the course of their execution or abduction. Women and women’s bodies were used as victory trophies by male perpetrators and the abduction, violence and humiliation of women, were put on public display, either on the streets of the Gaza Strip or online."

Two more detailed reports are anticipated to underscore the exact incidents allowing a clear understanding of what happened and the opportunity to differentiate between "possible" crime and what constitutes a crime "beyond a doubt."

Read more: Harrowing tales of torture inside 'Israel's' Sde Teiman prison: NYT