GENEVA, Monday, May 6, 2024 (WAFA) - UN experts today condemned the continued and systematic Israeli onslaught of violence committed against Palestinians in Gaza, with most victims being women and children over the past seven months.
"We are horrified at details emerging from mass graves recently unearthed in the Gaza Strip. Over 390 bodies have been discovered at Nasser and Al Shifa hospitals, including of women and children, with many reportedly showing signs of torture and summary executions, and potential instances of people buried alive," the experts said.
"The treatment of pregnant and lactating women continues to be appalling, with the direct bombardment of hospitals and deliberate denial of access to health care facilities by Israeli snipers, combined with the lack of beds and medical resources placing an estimated 50,000 pregnant Palestinian women and 20,000 new-born babies at unimaginable risk,” said the UN experts.
"We are appalled that women are being targeted by Israel with such vicious, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, seemingly sparing no means to destroy their lives and deny them their fundamental human rights," they said.
They said that the unprecedented mass destruction of housing and precarious tent living conditions have disproportionately impacted women and girls, including their personal security and privacy.
"Nothing illustrates systematic violence being inflicted on women and their children better than the story of an infant who was saved from her mother's womb after she was killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip, and died days later in an incubator on 26 April," the experts said.
“Over 183 women per day are giving birth without pain relief, while hundreds of babies have died because of a lack of electricity to power incubators," they said. "The dreadful conditions have resulted in increases in miscarriages by up to 300 percent. 95 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women face severe food poverty.”
The UN experts expressed dismay at continued reports of sexual assault and violence against women and girls, including against those detained by Israeli occupation forces. The experts said the Government of Israel has continuously failed to conduct an independent, impartial and effective investigation into the reported crimes.
"Women and children are entitled to special protection under international humanitarian law and human rights law,” they said.
The experts were identified as Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967; Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing; Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation; Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.
Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world.
Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
T.R.
