UN Panel slams ‘vicious’ Israeli violence against women

A panel of UN experts has condemned violence against women and children perpetrated by the Israeli military.

“We are appalled that women are being targeted by Israel with such vicious, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, seemingly sparing no means to destroy their lives and deny them their fundamental human rights,” said an independent panel of experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.

The experts slammed reports of sexual assault and violence against women and girls, including against those detained by Israeli occupation forces. They added that women and girls in Gaza have faced enforced disappearances.

They also condemned the “appalling” treatment of pregnant women as a result of the Israeli bombardment of hospitals. They noted that Israeli forces had also destroyed Gaza’s largest fertility clinic, reported to have been storing 3,000 embryos.

The report was drafted by special rapporteurs, who are assigned by he UN Human Rights Council, but whose statements are not official UN positions.