Ajith Sunghay, UN Human Rights Chief in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), presented his latest report covering the period from October 7, 2023 to May 31, 2025, following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel and Israel’s subsequent attack on Gaza.
It documents large-scale violations of international law, including atrocity crimes, and flags war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by Israeli and Palestinian parties.
Lasting consequences
“One year later, Despite the ceasefire concluded in October 2025, the lasting consequences of the patterns we documented are evident.”said Mr. Sunghay.
“The ceasefire diminished the immense scale of violence up to that point and opened a modest humanitarian space. But the killings and destruction of infrastructure have continued almost daily, and the overall humanitarian situation remains dire. All this while Hamas continues its own violations, including against the people of Gaza..”
The reporting period saw unprecedented levels of killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces, the tightening and escalation of Israeli control over Palestinians and their lands, and “concerning conduct” by Palestinian authorities and armed groups, such as the indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel and the taking of hostages.
Deadly attacks, devastating violence
Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity when they attacked civilians in Israel beginning on October 7, 2023, killing at least 1,124 people, taking hostages, and firing thousands of unguided missiles into Israeli territory for more than a year.
“The freed hostages have provided credible accounts of torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence,” Mr. Sunghay said.
Meanwhile, “Israel unleashed devastating violence and dispossession in Gaza and the West Bank, committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity,” he said.
He noted that the report found that the totality of Israeli conduct in Gaza raises serious concerns about the country’s compliance with its obligation to prevent acts within the scope of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Blockade, hunger and displacement
“The fact is that Palestinians have no means to ensure their survival or protect their loved ones, and hundreds of people have died since the ceasefire was announced.”said Mr. Sunghay.
“The Israeli army has killed 72,769 Palestinians since October 7, 2023 in Gaza: in their homes, in shelters for internally displaced people, in hospitals, schools, places of worship, in the streets, while queuing for aid or trying to fish in the sea.”
Besides, “The Israeli blockade of Gaza caused famines and famines that were predicted and then confirmed.“, and hundreds died. He emphasized that “any use of starvation as a method of war against civilians is a war crime, and can amount to a crime against humanity and even genocide under certain conditions.”
Mr. Sunghay also addressed displacement in Gaza, which has raised concerns about ethnic cleansing and forced transfers. People have fled neighborhoods that no longer exist “as Israeli forces continue to illegally demolish buildings across Gaza: houses still laden with thousands of unrecovered Palestinian bodies.”
‘Unprecedented’ settlement expansion
As for the West Bank, he said the rate of forced displacement “has not been seen in decades,” and described the expansion of Israeli settlements there as “unprecedented.”
“Israeli military and police forces and settlers are increasingly killing Palestinians with impunity, often together.Since the October 7 attacks, 1,096 Palestinians have been killed, of whom around 20 percent, or one in five, are children.
“Settler attacks are routinely carried out with Support, acquiescence or participation of Israeli security forces.“, said.
“The Israeli government has intensified its militarization of the settler movement, shielded them from accountability, and now actively benefits from settler violence as a catalyst for its stated annexation agenda.”
Mr. Sunghay said dispossession in the West Bank is “equaled in intensity with the record rate of settlement expansion” that has increased by 80 percent since the Government took officewith 102 new settlements added to the 127 that previously existed.
I can’t go back home
Furthermore, 33,000 Palestinians displaced from three refugee camps last year (Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams) are still unable to return to their homes.
“The Israeli authorities are forcing Palestinians to leave their homes around the Old City in East Jerusalem at alarming levelshand over their properties to settlers or make room for settlement projects, including a park and a cable car project,” he said.
The report also documented other patterns that have persisted, including the torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody, including sexual violence and even rape, and denial of sufficient food and medical care.
“Discriminatory practices have further reinforced Israel’s violation of the prohibition of apartheid and racial segregation,” he said.
“Impunity fuels recurrence”
He noted that overall, not enough is being done to stop these violations.
“He The ceasefire has not led to any form of meaningful accountability for violations committed in previous years.. Nor has it led to any fundamental analysis of the underlying factor: prolonged occupation,” he said.
“Impunity fuels recurrence. Most of the horrors documented here, and those documented for decades before, have gone unpunished, with no prospect of justice for the victims.”
Mr. Sunghay emphasized that in addition to expressing their condemnation, countries must urgently take all measures in accordance with international law to end the Israeli occupation, ensure the dismantlement of existing settlements, protect civilians, achieve accountability for serious violations committed by all parties, and ensure that Palestinians can exercise their human rights.
“In a context like this, Lack of action is not passivity. It’s a license“, said.