Around 70% of deaths in Gaza are women and children, says UN

Several United Nations agencies are again sounding the alarm on the rapid deterioration of humanitarian conditions in much of Gaza and the civilian toll of more than a year of Israeli military operations.

Several United Nations agencies are again sounding the alarm on the rapid deterioration of humanitarian conditions in much of Gaza and the civilian toll of more than a year of Israeli military operations. In a detailed report verifying fatalities in Gaza in the first six months of the conflict, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said it “found close to 70 per cent to be children and women, indicating a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law” on the part of the Israeli military. The continuation of these attacks “demonstrates an apparent indifference to the death of civilians and the impact of the means and methods of warfare selected,” the report said. It added that of the confirmed deaths, 80% were killed in residential buildings or similar housing, of which 44% were children and 26% were women. OHCHR said it found a pattern showing “high numbers of babies and young children, women, older persons, and families killed together in residential buildings.” UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk said the report showed that civilian casualties were “a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law – namely the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.”