In its latest finding, the United Nations-appointed Independent International Commission of Inquiry looking into the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after the attack by Israel has stated that the Israeli authorities have “continued to commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide” in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel” despite the ceasefire agreement.The report was presented by the commission’s Chair and former High Court judge S Muralidhar in the United Nations General Assembly on October 26.Presenting the report, Commission of Inquiry Chair and former Orissa High Court Chief Justice S Muralidhar said over 75,000 Palestinians across the Occupied Palestinian Territory have been killed since October 7, 2023, including at least 21,500 children and 11,000 women. “It is an outrage that these actions have been allowed to continue unabated,” he remarked.This Commission was set up by the United Nations Human Rights Council in May 2021 through a UNHRC resolution as an independent body to follow up on the conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory. It is mandated to submit annual reports. The commission is currently chaired by S Muralidhar of India, who retired in 2023 as the Chief Justice of the Odisha High Court. Apart from Muralidhar, the commission has Florence Mumba of Zambia and Chris Sidoti of Australia as members.The report said that since October 2023, Israeli officials have demonstrated a consistent intent to establish permanent military control over Gaza and to change its demographic composition while systematically destroying Palestinian life.It further said Israeli authorities and forces continued to commit “genocidal acts” after the ceasefire agreement, with the intent to destroy Palestinians, in whole or in part.“The Israeli government and security forces have deliberately carried out acts inflicting death and severe bodily and mental harm on Palestinian children, amounting to age-based persecution of children in Gaza,” the report stated.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Justice Muralidhar’s UN Report indicts Israel for targeting Palestinian children. Civil society must actHighlighting that sexual and “gender-based violence” is used as a method of war by Israel to destabilise, dominate, oppress, and destroy the Palestinian people, the report pointed out that the killing and harming of “children and the use of ” sexual and gender-based violence” are included among the elements that establish the specific intent of the Israeli authorities to commit genocide against the Palestinian group in Gaza.The Commission said little or no action had been taken by Israel or member states to stop the atrocities highlighted in its findings.The Commission concluded that Israel has committed the “crimes against humanity of extermination, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence” in the West Bank.Justice Muralidhar pointed out that Israel has also committed the crime against humanity of persecution in the West Bank, where the permissive rules of engagement are implemented in a discriminatory manner, applying exclusively to Palestinians. “The conduct of the Israeli authorities and forces forms part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians and impose conditions of life that are unlivable,” he stated.Story continues below this adThe findings of the report stressed that in some cases, Israeli forces fired live ammunition at vehicles carrying Palestinian families, including children, claiming that they accelerated towards the forces and constituted a threat, when there was no evidence to support such a claim.According to the report, the Israeli authorities have repeatedly provided false justifications for the use of lethal force, intending to deflect responsibility. It specifically highlighted that the Commission is not aware of any effective investigations, disciplinary, or judicial measures undertaken by the Israeli authorities or military in any of the cases it investigated, as of September 30.