UN panel declares 254 West Bank airstrikes a strategy of extermination

A United Nations commission released a report on Monday stating that 254 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the West Bank between October 7, 2023, and September 30, 2026. The panel accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity while also finding that the Palestinian Authority violated the rights of its citizens.

Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry responded to the findings on Monday. Officials called the document propaganda that is detached from reality. They argued the report aims to undermine Israel’s right to self-defense and delegitimize the Jewish state while legitimizing jihadist terrorism against its citizens.

The commission noted that nearly 500 Palestinians are killed annually in the West Bank since 2022. These figures represent the highest numbers recorded since the United Nations began collecting such data in 2005. The panel observed a sharp increase in airstrike deaths after October 7, 2023. Only six Palestinians were killed by airstrikes in the West Bank between 2008 and October 6, 2023.

Srinivasan Muralidhar, the Indian jurist chairing the Commission of Inquiry, described the findings. He said the intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians, along with the destruction of homes, forms part of a strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians. Muralidhar stated that Israel imposes conditions of life that are unliveable while persistently denying responsibility.

The report links the rise in violence to Operation Iron Wall, which began in January 2025. Airstrikes became more frequent in refugee camps and areas around Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and Nablus. The commission described the operation as a shift toward widespread destruction of housing and infrastructure. It cited the Israel Defense Forces aim to dismantle these areas to restore operational freedom for troops.

The panel analyzed statements by senior Israeli officials to assess military conduct. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich referred to two million Nazis in the West Bank in November 2023. In November 2024, he argued for applying Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements in the entire Judea and Samaria region. In January 2025, Smotrich wrote that Fondouk, Nablus, and Jenin should look like Jabalia. Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth, head of the IDF Central Command, reportedly stated in May 2026 that soldiers were killing like they had not since 1967.

The commission verified four additional cases of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees since March 2025. Two victims were from the West Bank. The cases included gang rape, genital violence, and forced nudity. One male detainee at Megiddo Prison in 2025 was allegedly blindfolded and raped with objects during interrogation. Guards reportedly mocked him and threatened his family, while he suffered rectal bleeding without medical treatment. Israel has previously rejected these allegations, describing them as unfounded and disputing the verification methods used by the panel.

The report also detailed abuses by the Palestinian Authority. The panel accused the PA of suppressing political dissent through arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture. It targeted journalists, activists, and human rights defenders. In October 2023, at least two men, a boy, and a girl were killed in Ramallah, Tubas, and Jenin during protests. The PA accepted responsibility for the death of the boy, who was run over by a security vehicle. The commission also investigated the December 2024 killing of a journalism student in Jenin. She was shot in the neck near her home after documenting alleged abuses by security forces. The PA blamed outlaws for the killing, but the commission noted that key witnesses had not been asked to testify.