Geneva, May 19 (SANA) A senior UN human rights official said on Monday that killings, destruction and forced displacement of Palestinians continue in the occupied Palestinian territory, while displacement in the West Bank has reached levels “unseen in decades.”
Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, presented a report covering October 7, 2023, to May 31, 2025, documenting atrocity crimes, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israeli forces.
He said an October ceasefire reduced violence in Gaza but did not stop killings or destruction, which continued almost daily amid a severe humanitarian crisis.
“The ceasefire diminished the immense scale of violence up that point and opened some modest humanitarian space,” Sunghay said. “But killings and the destruction of infrastructure have continued on an almost daily basis.”
The report said Israeli attacks in Gaza and the West Bank amounted to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.
It estimated about 73,000 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, in homes, shelters, hospitals, schools, places of worship, streets, while seeking aid and while fishing.
Sunghay said the Israeli blockade had led to famine that was later confirmed, with hundreds dying of starvation, including children, adding that the use of starvation as a method of war may constitute a war crime or, in some cases, crimes against humanity or genocide.
He said displacement in Gaza raised concerns about ethnic cleansing and forcible transfer.
In the West Bank, he said forced displacement had reached levels unseen in decades, alongside “unprecedented” settlement expansion.
He said Israeli forces and settlers had killed 1,096 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, including one in five children, often with impunity and in some cases joint action between settlers and security forces.
The report said settlement expansion had increased by 80% since the current government took office, with 102 new settlements added to 127 previously existing, while 33,000 Palestinians displaced from the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps remained unable to return home.
It also said Palestinians in East Jerusalem faced forced evictions linked to settlement expansion and development projects, including parks and a cable car project.
The report documented widespread torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence, rape, and denial of food and medical care of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody.
Sunghay said discriminatory practices reinforced violations of the prohibition of apartheid and racial segregation, adding that lack of accountability was driving continued abuses.
He urged states to take urgent measures under international law to end the occupation, dismantle settlements, protect civilians and ensure accountability.
He said lack of action amounted to enabling continued violations.
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