Destroyed areas of Gaza. UN warns of widespread human rights abuses in Gaza and West Bank Human rights
“The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is a man-made disaster.” This statement was made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday. He submitted a report to the Human Rights Council covering the period from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025.
The document, according to Turk, demonstrates serious violations both on the part of Israel and on the part of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
Large-scale casualties among civilians
Data collected by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) shows the systemic nature of violations. According to the report, more than 25,500 Palestinians, including entire families, were killed in Gaza during the reporting period, and more than 68,800 were injured. The dead included Palestinian journalists. The UN Office confirmed that 292 media workers have been killed in Israeli operations since October 7, 2023.
In August 2025, a massive famine was declared in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 463 Palestinians, including 157 children, died of starvation.
“This was a direct result of Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid and other deliberate actions,” the High Commissioner emphasized.
Israeli hostages
The UN’s chief human rights defender also stressed that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups continued to hold hostages into 2025, in clear violation of international law.
Fifty-one people captured on October 7, 2023 have been returned to their families. After their release, they spoke of their ordeal, including sexual and gender-based violence, torture, beatings and prolonged detention in underground premises. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israeli forces continued to use force. Launched in January 2025, Operation Iron Wall led to the forced displacement of 32,000 people.
At the same time, Palestinian security forces increasingly used excessive or disproportionate force, resulting in the deaths of at least eight Palestinians. More than 300 people were arbitrarily detained and ill-treated.
The truce did not bring real peace
While the October 11, 2025 truce brought some relief, it did not lead to sustainable protection of civilians, Türk said.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since the ceasefire came into force, Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 600 Palestinians and injured more than 1,600 people. At the same time, the UN Human Rights Office has documented at least 80 cases of killings of Palestinians by Hamas, mostly in extrajudicial killings and clashes with rival factions.
In addition, after the ceasefire came into force in Gaza, at least 11 children died from hypothermia.
Violations of international law
The High Commissioner expressed regret over Israel’s decision to suspend the activities of some 37 humanitarian organizations in the Gaza Strip. He also condemned the ban on the UN Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the demolition of its facilities in East Jerusalem, calling the moves a violation of international law.
Turk expressed serious concern about Israel’s ongoing moves to expand control over the Palestinian territories, which could be “aimed at permanently changing the demographic structure in Gaza and the West Bank, raising fears of ethnic cleansing.”
He also criticized measures against international mechanisms, including sanctions against representatives of the International Criminal Court and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Francesco Albanese.
Albanese – who is not a UN official and is acting in a personal capacity under a mandate from the Human Rights Council – spoke in Geneva today along with other independent experts. They condemned attempts to undermine their work.
Attacks on independent experts are “unacceptable”
Speaking to reporters, Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett rejected calls for Albanese’s resignation after videos were published online misrepresenting her remarks about Israel.
Last July, she was included in the US sanctions list. Previously, starting in February last year, measures were introduced against judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Bennett stressed that states “may strongly disagree and have every right to express that disagreement in a strong manner,” but deliberate misrepresentations and “personal attacks” on independent experts are unacceptable.
“International sanctions are intended for human rights violators and criminals, not for human rights defenders,” he said.
Special Rapporteurs and other independent human rights experts are not UN employees and do not receive remuneration for their work. Human rights – along with peace, security and development – are one of the fundamental pillars of the work of the United Nations.