The United Nations committee on torture says there is evidence that Israel is operating a de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture.
The committee regularly reviews the records of all countries which have signed the convention against torture, taking testimony from their governments and from human rights groups.
During Israel's review, both Israeli and Palestinian rights groups provided harrowing details about conditions in Israeli detention centres. It is alleged that thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israel since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
Under Israel's laws on administrative detention and on Unlawful Combatants – suspects who cannot be classed as prisoner of war – they can be held for long periods without access to a lawyer or family members.
Many Palestinian families report waiting months to learn if a loved one has been detained, which the UN committee called enforced disappearance.
The committee criticized the reported use of the Unlawful Combatants law to detain groups of Palestinians, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly.
The reported conditions in detention are particularly grim, with evidence suggesting Palestinians are deprived of food and water, subjected to beatings, attacks by dogs, electrocution, waterboarding, and sexual violence. Some detainees are allegedly permanently shackled and denied access to toilets.
The committee concluded that such treatment amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, stating that the reported systematic torture is a constitutive act of genocide under international law.
Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
One committee member, Peter Vedel Kessing, expressed deep concern and called for independent investigations into these allegations, urging accountability for those responsible, including senior military officers.
While the UN committee condemned the Hamas attack of October 2023 and acknowledged Israel's security challenges, they emphasized that violations of international law by one side do not justify similar actions by the other.
The findings come amid increasing global scrutiny over Israel's human rights record, with UN agencies reporting worsening conditions for people in the Gaza Strip and increased calls for accountability.
