UN Committee: Israel Continued Genocide Acts in Gaza Despite Ceasefire

An independent international investigation committee of the United Nations concluded in its report issued on October 26, 2026, that Israel continued acts constituting genocide in Gaza despite the ceasefire that went into effect on October 10, 2025, while committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank.

The report documented the continued use by Israeli forces of heavy munitions, unmanned aircraft, artillery, and snipers in densely populated areas within the Gaza Strip. It affirmed that the ceasefire did not end grave violations against Palestinian civilians.

The report drew particular attention to what has become known as the "yellow line"; the boundary drawn by the Israeli military between areas under its control and areas inhabited by Palestinians. The report stated that this line, which initially served as a temporary truce demarcation, is gradually transforming into a permanent de facto boundary, as Israel's expansion of it inward reduces the area available to Palestinians. The committee chair, Srini Vasan Muralidharan, clarified that this expansion resulted in casualties and injuries among Palestinian civilians who approached or crossed the line.

In the West Bank, the committee documented a sharp shift in the scale of deadly airstrikes: between 2008 and October 6, 2023, six Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in the West Bank, while in the period from October 7, 2023 to September 30, 2026, the number rose to 254 deaths. The committee concluded that operations by the Israeli military and attacks by settlers constitute a systematic and widespread pattern of assault targeting Palestinians in a discriminatory manner on the basis of nationality, ethnic origin, gender, and age.

In the category of crimes against humanity, the report documented practices of genocide, persecution, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence as crimes against humanity, noting that these violations in the West Bank occur within the context of a broader attack on civilians.