Palestinian civilians are being “systematically and deliberately” subjected to severe rights violations across Gaza and the occupied West Bank, caught between Israeli military operations, settler violence, and Hamas’s rule, according to a UN-mandated inquiry released on Tuesday. In the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry said ordinary Palestinians are effectively trapped between what it described as structural violence and mass atrocities carried out by Israeli forces and the “predatory, fear-based” governance of Hamas.
The report said civilians continue to endure severe hardship in an environment shaped by prolonged conflict and destruction. In the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ensuing Gaza war, the commission highlighted increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, and the report said civilian protection has further deteriorated amid escalating hostilities and military operations.
Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said settler violence is enabled by policies that “support, enable and protect” such actions, while Hamas-affiliated forces have exploited the vacuum created by widespread destruction in Gaza. He added that both sides operate in environments that contribute to the “deliberate infliction of suffering” on Palestinian civilians, despite differing origins and motivations.
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According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, at least 1,080 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023, alongside at least 46 Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations over the same period. The report underscores the continued intensity of violence affecting civilians on both sides.
The commission, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate alleged rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, also found that at least 26 Palestinians were killed and 1,570 injured by settlers between January 2023 and December 2025, adding that such attacks have continued on a daily basis into 2026.
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