Israel has strongly condemned a report by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry that accuses the country of deliberately seeking to destroy healthcare in Gaza and abusing Palestinian detainees. The findings, released on Thursday, claim that Israel’s military actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The UN commission asserted that Israel had carried out “a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system” through “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities.” Israel, in response, has categorically denied the allegations. In a statement from its mission in Geneva on Friday, the Israeli government branded the report “outrageous.”

Israel argues that the commission’s findings are an attempt to delegitimize its existence and undermine its right to defend its population against terrorist threats. “This report shamelessly portrays Israel’s operations in terror-infested health facilities in Gaza as a matter of policy against Gaza’s health system,” the statement said. Israel accused Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad of using medical facilities for terrorist activities and stressed that these groups were responsible for endangering healthcare infrastructure.

The Israeli government also rejected claims of systemic abuse of Palestinian detainees, insisting it is fully committed to international legal standards concerning the treatment of detainees, including the prohibition of excessive force and mistreatment.

The UN’s three-member commission, established by the Human Rights Council in May 2021, published its second report following Hamas’s October 7 attack a year ago. The ongoing conflict, sparked by the attack, has led to a significant number of casualties on both sides. According to Israeli officials, 1,206 people, mostly civilians, were killed during the Hamas attack, while Gaza’s health ministry, run by Hamas, reported over 42,000 deaths as a result of Israel’s retaliatory actions.

Israel’s mission called on states to speak out against what it described as a “prejudiced” approach by the commission, accusing it of exacerbating the conflict.