Geneva: The UN Human Rights Office said on Friday that nearly 70 percent of the deaths it confirmed in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of 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 more than 43,000 that Palestinian health authorities have provided 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. Human 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.

Israel’s UN diplomatic mission in Geneva said it categorically rejected the report.

“OHCHR once again fails to accurately reflect the facts on the ground and ignores the broad role of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in deliberately harming civilians in Gaza,” he said, citing the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. he said.

Israelis say Hamas deliberately hid among civilians and used them as human shields, so responsibility for their deaths lies with the militants. Israel reports that approximately one civilian is killed for every fighter and holds Hamas responsible for this rate.

Hamas has denied using civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as human shields.

The Israeli military, which launched its offensive in response to an Oct. 7, 2023 attack in which Israel said Hamas fighters killed nearly 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages in southern Israel, said it was making major efforts to reduce the damage to civilians.

The military said comprehensive processes ensure forces comply with the law of armed conflict, with a streamlined, multi-layered process to confirm attacks designed to give commanders “all reasonably available information.”

“Every military action is carried out in accordance with the principles of distinction and proportionality and is preceded by careful assessment of the potential for harm to civilians,” the army said in a statement. The statement was included.

The youngest victim turned a day older
Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, told reporters at a briefing in Geneva that the deaths included in the report were confirmed by three sources: neighbours, family members, local NGOs, hospital records or UN staff. on the ground.

“The numbers are of course huge compared to previous years, so we need time to catch up and verify,” he said, adding that he thought the UN’s final figure would likely be similar to the Palestinians’ figure.

The report stated that the youngest victim, whose death was confirmed by UN observers, was a one-day-old boy, and the oldest victim was a 97-year-old woman.

Overall, those 18 and under represented 44 percent of victims; The largest age category is represented by children ages 5 to 9, followed by children ages 10 to 14, and then children up to age 4.

This situation generally reflects the demographic structure of the region, and the report states that this is evidence that the necessary measures are not taken to prevent civilian casualties.

The report found that in 88 percent of cases, five or more people were killed in the same attack, pointing to the Israeli army’s use of weapons affecting a wide area. It was stated that some deaths may have occurred as a result of faulty bullets from Palestinian armed groups.