UNITED NATIONS – Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territory, a United Nations (UN) commission of inquiry has found.

Israel has committed war crimes and the crimes against humanity of extermination, persecution, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence in the occupied Palestinian territory, intentionally targeting Palestinian civilians as it continues to commit genocide in Gaza, according to a report of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.

The report submitted to the UN General Assembly finds that the situation in the West Bank has deteriorated gravely since Oct 7, 2023. The report concludes that Palestinians in the West Bank are being targeted on the basis of their nationality, race and ethnicity, gender and age.

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In Gaza, Israeli authorities and forces continue to commit genocidal acts even after the so-called ceasefire agreement, with the intent to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, according to the report.

As part of a broader investigation into the root causes of recurrent tensions and protraction of conflict, the report concludes that Israel has striven to expand territorially and displace Palestinians through violence since the 1947-48 war.

The commission of inquiry makes several recommendations to the concerned states and the international community.

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Israel should comply with the advisory opinion of July 2024 of the International Court of Justice and immediately end the unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory and remove all settlers and settlements. Essentially, Israel should end and reverse the confiscation and appropriation of Palestinian property and reservation of Palestinian land for military purposes and return all confiscated land to its Palestinian owners, said the commission.

488 Palestinian families affected by Israel's Hebron operation

A total of 488 Palestinian families have been affected by an ongoing Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Hebron since the operation began on Friday, Palestinian official sources said Monday.

In a statement, the Hebron Municipality said Israeli forces had forcibly displaced about 3,171 people from their homes, particularly in the Deir Baha and Al-Jalda areas. Hundreds of residents in nearby neighborhoods remain trapped inside their homes and are being prevented from leaving, it added.

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Rafiq al-Jabari, deputy governor of Hebron, said that the city was experiencing "extremely harsh and difficult" conditions as the Israeli operation continued, accompanied by house raids, arrests and interrogations.

Al-Jabari said that Israeli forces had forcibly displaced residents from their homes and properties and caused widespread and systematic destruction of infrastructure, warning that the situation had taken a dangerous turn.

Israeli forces launched a military operation in Hebron on Friday night. The operation followed a shooting near Hebron in which two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others wounded. Israeli forces shot dead the two Palestinian shooters.