Palestinian Women Are Being Raped And Murdered By Israel, Human Rights Report Says

On Monday, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that it had obtained information that accused Israel of detaining and executing women and girls in Gaza.

Israel's government has refuted the allegations, calling the claims "despicable and unfounded".

Several Palestinian females have "reportedly been arbitrarily executed in Gaza, often together with family members, including their children", the human rights arm of the United Nations said.

The Human Rights experts went on to express how they were "shocked by reports of the deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killing of Palestinian women and children in places where they sought refuge, or while fleeing".

"Some of them were reportedly holding white pieces of cloth when they were killed by the Israeli army or affiliated forces," they added.

The ONHCR went on to accuse Israel of the arbitrary detention of hundreds of Palestinian women and girls.

Some of those allegedly being held by Israel include human rights defenders, journalists and humanitarian workers in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The females have reportedly been victims of inhumane treatment, including being severely beaten, raped, verbally abused, threatened and denied menstrual hygiene products.

"At least two female Palestinian detainees were reportedly raped while others were reportedly threatened with rape and sexual violence," the ONHCR said.

The detainees have also been denied food and medicine for a period of time, according to the ONHCR.

"We are particularly distressed by reports that Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers," the human rights watchdog continued.

Supporting the allegations against Israel, the ONHCR said that they received photographic evidence that showed the women and girls being held in degrading circumstances by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) or a separate Israeli militant group.

According to the Human Rights experts, the photos were "reportedly taken by the Israeli army".

"There are disturbing reports of at least one female infant forcibly transferred by the Israeli army into Israel, and of children being separated from their parents, whose whereabouts remain unknown," the ONHCR revealed.

This news comes after UNICEF (the Convention on the Rights of the Child), estimated that more than 17,000 Palestinian children have been left unaccompanied or separated from their parents in the Gaza Strip.

Almost all of the children in the besieged enclave are in need of urgent mental health support, the Children's arm of the United Nations also reported.

The ONHCR has since demanded an investigation into the claims of sexual violence, rape and "egregious human rights violations".

In its call for an open and immediate investigation into the inhumane treatment of Palestinian females, the experts noted that the Israeli government have an "obligation to uphold the right to life, safety, health, and dignity of Palestinian women and girls and to ensure that no one is subjected to violence, torture, ill-treatment or degrading treatment, including sexual violence".

In a statement that responded to the accusations, Israel's authorities wrote: "It is clear that the co-signatories are motivated not by the truth but by their hatred for Israel and its people."

Since Hamas launched its on-the-ground massacre of more than 1,000 Israelis and kidnapped more than 235 civilians on October 7, more than 130 people still remain captured by the terrorist group.

Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians – according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.

Out of those murdered by Israel's fatal ground operation and air strikes on the besieged enclave, the Hamas-run Health Ministry reported that more than 10,000 are children.