Israel has been accused of committing the crime against humanity of “extermination” through attacks targeting Palestinian civilians sheltering in schools, mosques, and other religious sites in Gaza, according to a newly released report by a United Nations commission.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, detailed its findings in a report published on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. The report highlights grave violations of international law, including war crimes such as the deliberate targeting of civilians and willful killings, particularly in assaults on educational institutions that resulted in civilian casualties.
“We are seeing growing evidence of a deliberate campaign to erase Palestinian life in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, the commission’s chair and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
According to the commission, over 90% of Gaza’s school and university buildings have been damaged or destroyed, and more than half of all religious and cultural landmarks in the territory have been demolished.
While the destruction of educational and cultural infrastructure does not in itself meet the legal definition of genocide, the report notes that such actions “may infer genocidal intent to destroy a protected group.”
“Israel’s attacks on Palestinian cultural, educational, and religious life risk irreparably damaging both current and future generations, undermining their right to self-determination,” Pillay warned.
Although the focus is primarily on Gaza, the commission also drew attention to the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where increased Israeli military activity, harassment of students, and settler violence have severely impacted the Palestinian education system.
“Children in Gaza have been robbed of their childhood. With no access to education, they live in constant fear—battling starvation, trauma, and inhumane conditions,” said Pillay.
“What’s especially alarming is the widespread and systematic nature of these attacks on educational institutions, which now extend well beyond Gaza and affect all Palestinian children.”
The commission’s findings will be officially presented to the UN Human Rights Council on June 17. However, Israel withdrew from the council in February, alleging systemic bias.
This latest report follows an earlier March publication by the same commission, which accused Israel of “genocidal acts” through the destruction of reproductive healthcare services. That report drew sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who dismissed the council as “anti-Semitic, corrupt, terror-supporting, and irrelevant.”
