GENEVA: The UN Human Rights Office said on Friday it had accounted for nearly 70 percent of the deaths it had confirmed. Gaza war women and children, and condemned what he called the systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.

The UN’s tally since the start of the Israeli army’s war with Hamas militants includes deaths it has managed to verify from only three sources, and the counting is ongoing.

The 8,119 confirmed victims are a far lower figure than the over 43,000 death toll provided by Palestinian health authorities for the 13-month war. But the UN’s breakdown of the age and gender of victims supports Palestinian claims that women and children account for the majority of those killed in the war.

The finding showed “a systematic violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality,” the U.N. rights office said in a statement accompanying the 32-page report.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said, “It is essential that allegations of serious violations of international law be duly evaluated through reliable and impartial judicial bodies, while all relevant information and evidence is collected and protected.” His rights are Volker Turk, he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the report’s findings.

The Israeli army, which began its attacks in response to the October 7, 2023 attack in which Hamas fighters killed nearly 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages in southern Israel, says it is careful not to harm civilians in Gaza.

Stating that approximately one civilian is killed for every fighter, the organization holds Hamas responsible for this rate and says that the Palestinian militant group uses civilian facilities. Hamas has denied using civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as human shields.