GENEVA (19 February 2026) – A UN Human Rights Office report
released today raises concerns over ethnic cleansing by
Israeli authorities in both Gaza and the West Bank, amid
increased attacks and forcible transfers that appear aimed
at a permanent displacement of Palestinians throughout the
occupied territories.
During the reporting period,
from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025 “intensified
attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods
and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at
a permanent demographic shift in Gaza”, says the report.
“This, together with forcible transfers, which appear to
aim at a permanent displacement, raise concerns over ethnic
cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.”
In the Gaza
strip, the report details the continued killing and maiming
of unprecedented numbers of civilians over the course of the
reporting period by Israeli forces, the spread of famine,
and the destruction of the remaining civilian infrastructure
— imposing on Palestinians conditions of life increasingly
incompatible with their continued existence in Gaza as a
group.
The report also says the patterns of deadly
attacks witnessed in Gaza raised grave concerns that Israeli
forces intentionally targeted civilians and civilian
objects, and launched attacks knowing civilian harm would be
excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage.
Such acts would constitute war crimes, the report
underlined.
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It details the deaths of at least 463
Palestinians, including 157 children, from starvation in the
Gaza strip. The situation of famine and malnutrition, the
report notes, was a direct result of actions taken by the
Israeli Government, such as the blocking of entry and
distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Any use of
starvation of the civilian population as a method of war
constitutes a war crime, it states, adding that such conduct
may also constitute crimes against humanity if committed as
part of a systematic or widespread attack against a civilian
population, and, if carried out with intent to destroy a
national, ethnical, racial or religious group in whole or in
part, may also constitute genocide.
In the occupied
West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the report details the
systematic unlawful use of force by Israeli security forces,
the widespread arbitrary detention and torture and other
ill-treatment of Palestinians in detention, and the
extensive unlawful demolition of Palestinian homes. This is
“used to systematically discriminate, oppress, control and
dominate the Palestinian people”, the report says. The
report also points to concerning incidents of unnecessary or
disproportionate use of force by the Palestinian
Authority.
During the reporting period, Hamas and
other Palestinian armed groups continued to hold Israeli and
foreign hostages seized on 7 October 2023 — along with the
bodies of those who died or were killed in captivity — as
bargaining tools, says the report. It refers to public
testimonies from released hostages describing sexual and
gender-based violence, torture, beatings, prolonged
underground confinement, and deprivation of food, water and
sanitation.
The report also documents the death of 79
Palestinians in Israeli detention during the reporting
period and highlights that Palestinians detained from Gaza
remained particularly vulnerable to torture and other
ill-treatment.
The report details a “pervasive
climate of impunity” for gross human rights violations and
serious violations of international humanitarian law by the
Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territory,
and highlights that no meaningful steps have been taken by
Israel’s justice system in relation to accountability for
such violations. Among other recommendations, the report
urges all States “to cease the sale, transfer and
diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to
Israel facilitating violations of international humanitarian
law and international human rights law in the occupied
Palestinian territory”.
“While efforts were
underway, by the end of the reporting period, to advance the
United States-led ‘Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza
Conflict’ that went into effect on 9 October 2025, the
absence of any steps to ensure accountability for violations
of international law since 7 October 2023 represented a
critical gap,” the report states.
“Justice for
victims must lay the foundation for the reconstruction of
Gaza,” the report says, calling on States to ensure
Palestinians’ immediate participation in governance
structures to determine and shape the reconstruction of
Gaza.
“Impunity is not abstract – it kills.
Accountability is indispensable. It is the prerequisite for
a just and durable peace in Palestine and Israel,” said UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker
Türk.
