A UN investigation concluded that Israel has committed genocidal acts in Gaza through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive health facilities.

The UN Commission of Inquiry said Israel "deliberately attacked and destroyed" the main reproductive centre in the Palestinian territory and simultaneously imposed a siege and blocked aid, including medication to ensure safe pregnancy, childbirth and neonatal care.

"Israel categorically rejects the baseless accusations," its mission in Geneva said in a statement quoted by AFP.

The commission found that Israeli authorities "have partially destroyed the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive health care."

It said this amounted to "two categories of genocidal acts" during the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

The UN Genocide Convention defines this crime as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

Of its five categories, the inquiry said the two involving Israel were "deliberately imposing living conditions on the group calculated to bring about its physical destruction" and "imposing measures designed to prevent the birth of children within the group".

"These violations have caused not only severe immediate physical and psychological harm and suffering to women and girls, but also irreversible long-term consequences for the mental health and reproductive and childbearing prospects of Palestinians as a group," said committee chairwoman Navi Pillay.

The three-member Independent International Commission of Inquiry was established by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021 to investigate alleged violations of international law in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Pillay, a former UN human rights chief, served as a judge at the International Criminal Court and presided over the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Israel accused the commission of pushing a "pre-determined and biased political agenda in a shameless attempt to blame the Israel Defense Forces." | BGNES