Responding to a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel published today concluding that Israel has systematically used sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence against Palestinians since October 2023 and carried out “genocidal acts” against Palestinians in Gaza by destroying women’s healthcare and reproductive health facilities and blocking access to reproductive healthcare, Amnesty International’s Senior Adviser on gender, conflict and international justice, Lauren Aarons, said:
“These damning findings are another clear illustration of the devastating impact of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its use of gender-based violence to oppress Palestinian women and girls across the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to use sexual violence to perpetuate oppression on Palestinians of all genders, especially in Israeli detention centers.”
“The report exposes yet again the horrors of Israeli atrocity crimes in Gaza, and how they specifically impact women. They follow the findings of Amnesty International’s own December 2024 report which concluded that Israeli authorities committed and are committing genocide in Gaza. Acts that formed part of Israel’s genocide documented by Amnesty International included the killing and seriously injuring tens of thousands of women and girls and deliberately subjecting them to conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, in whole or in part.
“Palestinian women in Gaza have been subjected to a range of gendered forms of bodily and mental harm, including reproductive and other gender-based violence.
Amnesty International’s Senior Adviser on gender, conflict and international justice, Lauren Aarons
“Even after the first phase of the ceasefire came into force horrific conditions of life inflicted by Israel during the offensive have continued to disproportionately affect women and girls. This includes damage and destruction of homes, medical facilities including maternity wards, maternal care clinics and other life-sustaining infrastructure as well as shelters protecting women and girls from gender-based violence. Israel’s decision to completely block entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza for the past 12 days has already exacerbated the catastrophic conditions facing women and girls. Even prior to the imposition of these measures as a clear form of collective punishment, Israel had banned the entry of mobile homes and heavy machinery to remove the rubble. This means that hundreds of thousands of women and girls continue to live in dire conditions in tents or crowded schools, exposed to violence and with scarce access to clean water contributing to a hygiene crisis.
“Palestinians released from Israeli detention centers have also told Amnesty International that they were subjected to torture and sexual violence while in detention.”
“The publication of the COI report must prompt the international community to take urgent action to protect the rights of Palestinian women and address gendered crimes being committed against women and men. In addition to a long-lasting ceasefire, urgent measures are needed to repair hospitals, clinics and sanitation facilities, Israel must lift its genocidal siege on the occupied Gaza Strip and restore the electricity supply. It must also repeal its ban on UNRWA, whose work is vital to addressing the humanitarian catastrophe including the needs of women and girls.
“No discussion of human rights is possible without tackling Israel’s decades long impunity for its violations against Palestinians. The world must act to ensure justice is a reality for all Palestinians and to restore some faith in international law for all.”
Background
In a December 2024 report Amnesty International documented how Israel during its military offensive has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction
The organization has also documented evidence of war crimes by Israeli forces in Gaza including indiscriminate attacks resulting in mass civilian casualties wiping out entire families and destroying residential neighbourhoods.
The organization has also documented violations of international law by Hamas and other armed groups including launching indiscriminate rocket attacks into Israel as well as deliberate killings of civilians and hostage-taking since 7 October 2023.
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