UN: attacks in Gaza raise fears of “ethnic cleansing”

The UN human rights body accuses Israel and Hamas of serious violations of international law. Israeli actions “appear to be aimed at permanent demographic change” in the enclave, says report.

Israel’s attacks during the war in the Gaza Strip and the forced transfer of Palestinians raise “concerns about ethnic cleansing”, says a report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released this Thursday (19/02).

The text accuses Israeli forces, the Islamist group Hamas and other armed Palestinian militias of committing serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

The document highlights that Israeli actions appear to aim at permanent demographic change in Gaza, while at the same time stating that the detention and ill-treatment of hostages by Hamas may constitute war crimes”, states the UN body.

“Systematic use of illegal force”

“The intensification of attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighborhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appear to be aimed at a permanent demographic change in Gaza,” says the text. “This, along with forced transfers, which appear to be aimed at permanent displacement, raises concerns about ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.”

The report, which assessed the period from November 1, 2024 to October 31, 2025, highlights the “systematic use of illegal force” by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, denouncing “widespread” arbitrary detentions and the “large-scale illegal demolition” of Palestinian homes. The objective, according to the document, is “to systematically discriminate, oppress, control and dominate the Palestinian people”.

These actions, according to the text, alter “the character, status and demographic composition of the occupied West Bank, raising serious concerns of ethnic cleansing.”

“Inhuman choice”

The UN Human Rights Office condemned the ongoing killing and maiming of “unprecedented numbers of civilians,” the spread of famine, and the destruction of “remaining civilian infrastructure.” During the 12 months analyzed by the report, at least 463 Palestinians, including 157 children, starved to death in Gaza.

“Palestinians faced the inhumane choice of starving to death or risking being killed while trying to get food,” the document says.

According to the report, “predictable and repeatedly announced” hunger, malnutrition and deaths resulted directly from actions taken by the Israeli government.

Israel’s conduct inflicted conditions “incompatible with the continued existence of Palestinians in Gaza”, says UN | Ramadan Abed/Reuters More

The OHCHR recalls that any use of hunger as a method of warfare constitutes a war crime and, depending on the intention, may also constitute genocide.

During the period assessed, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups continued to hold Israeli and foreign hostages captured during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel – dead or alive – as “bargaining chips.”

The Human Rights Office also stated that the treatment of the hostages amounted to war crimes.

“Impunity kills”

This Tuesday, Israel’s Finance Minister, the ultra-rightist Bezalel Smotrich, promised to encourage “emigration” from the Palestinian territories. The West Bank would make up the bulk of any future Palestinian state, but many on Israel’s religious right consider it Israeli territory.

The report concluded that Israeli practices “indicate a concerted and growing effort to consolidate the annexation of large parts of occupied Palestinian territory and deny the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” and said there is a widespread climate of impunity for serious violations of international law committed by Israeli authorities in the Palestinian territories.

“Impunity is not abstract – it kills,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, in a statement. “Accountability is indispensable. It is the prerequisite for a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel.”

Israel accuses campaign of “demonization”

Israel’s permanent mission in Geneva rejected the report’s conclusions about Israel’s actions and said in a statement that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had lost its credibility.

“The Office of the High Commissioner is engaged in a vicious campaign of demonization and disinformation against the State of Israel,” he declared.

Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel in October 2023 killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli data. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 72,000 people, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, run by Hamas – a group considered terrorist by the US, European Union and others.

A ceasefire brokered by the United States came into force last October, after two years of war that forced the displacement of the majority of Gaza’s inhabitants and provoked a serious humanitarian crisis. Israel still controls more than half of the enclave.

Originally published by DW on 02/19/2026