The UN has accused Israel of carrying out actions that could amount to ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, amid increased attacks and forcible displacement of Palestinians.
Israel's “intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza,” the UN Human Rights Office said in a report released on Thursday.
“This, together with forcible transfers, which appear to aim at a permanent displacement, raises concerns over ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank,” added the report, which covers the period from November 1, 2024 to October 31, 2025.
The Gaza Strip saw “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”, it said.
These actions imposed conditions that make it increasingly difficult for Palestinians to continue existing in Gaza as a group, it added.
The report said the patterns of deadly attacks raised grave concerns that Israeli forces intentionally aimed at 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, adding that at least 463 Palestinians, including 157 children, have died from starvation in the Gaza Strip.
The prevalence of famine and malnutrition, the report adds, is a direct result of actions taken by the Israeli government, such as barring the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
Any use of starvation against the civilian population may constitute crimes against humanity, if committed as part of a systematic or widespread attack, the UN said
If carried out with intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group in whole or in part, it may also constitute genocide, the report added.
Israel began its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel and killed more than 1,200 people.
The Israeli offensive since then has killed more than 72,000 Palestinian, according to data compiled by Gaza's Health Ministry.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10, 2025. But both sides have repeatedly accused each other of breaching the deal, a key element of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war, the deadliest and most destructive in the generations-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, the UN report highlighted the systematic unlawful use of force by Israeli security forces, the widespread arbitrary detention and torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinians, and the extensive unlawful demolition of Palestinian homes.
This is “used to systematically discriminate, oppress, control and dominate the Palestinian people”, the report said.
It pointed to concerning incidents of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by the Palestinian Authority.
Israel seized control of the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. It is among the territories that Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the western-backed Palestinian Authority.
