GENEVA - A UN Human Rights Office report released today raises concerns over ethnic cleansing by Israeli authorities in both Gaza and the West Bank, amid increased attacks and forcible transfers that appear aimed at a permanent displacement of Palestinians throughout the occupied territories.
During the reporting period, from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025 "intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza", says the report. "This, together with forcible transfers, which appear to aim at a permanent displacement, raise concerns over ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank."
In the Gaza strip, the report details the continued killing and maiming of unprecedented numbers of civilians over the course of the reporting period by Israeli forces, the spread of famine, and the destruction of the remaining civilian infrastructure - imposing on Palestinians conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence in Gaza as a group.
The report also says the patterns of deadly attacks witnessed in Gaza raised grave concerns that Israeli forces intentionally targeted civilians and civilian objects, and launched attacks knowing civilian harm would be excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage. Such acts would constitute war crimes, the report underlined.
It details the deaths of at least 463 Palestinians, including 157 children, from starvation in the Gaza strip. The situation of famine and malnutrition, the report notes, was a direct result of actions taken by the Israeli Government, such as the blocking of entry and distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war constitutes a war crime, it states, adding that such conduct may also constitute crimes against humanity if committed as part of a systematic or widespread attack against a civilian population, and, if carried out with intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group in whole or in part, may also constitute genocide.
In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the report details the systematic unlawful use of force by Israeli security forces, the widespread arbitrary detention and torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinians in detention, and the extensive unlawful demolition of Palestinian homes. This is "used to systematically discriminate, oppress, control and dominate the Palestinian people", the report says. The report also points to concerning incidents of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by the Palestinian Authority.
During the reporting period, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups continued to hold Israeli and foreign hostages seized on 7 October 2023 - along with the bodies of those who died or were killed in captivity - as bargaining tools, says the report. It refers to public testimonies from released hostages describing sexual and gender-based violence, torture, beatings, prolonged underground confinement, and deprivation of food, water and sanitation.
The report also documents the death of 79 Palestinians in Israeli detention during the reporting period and highlights that Palestinians detained from Gaza remained particularly vulnerable to torture and other ill-treatment.
The report details a "pervasive climate of impunity" for gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law by the Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territory, and highlights that no meaningful steps have been taken by Israel's justice system in relation to accountability for such violations. Among other recommendations, the report urges all States "to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel facilitating violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the occupied Palestinian territory".
"While efforts were underway, by the end of the reporting period, to advance the United States-led 'Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict' that went into effect on 9 October 2025, the absence of any steps to ensure accountability for violations of international law since 7 October 2023 represented a critical gap," the report states.
"Justice for victims must lay the foundation for the reconstruction of Gaza," the report says, calling on States to ensure Palestinians' immediate participation in governance structures to determine and shape the reconstruction of Gaza.
"Impunity is not abstract - it kills. Accountability is indispensable. It is the prerequisite for a just and durable peace in Palestine and Israel," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
