74,000 Gaza deaths recorded since war began, UN commission says
The report details continued military operations after the ceasefire and rising casualties in the West Bank.
By Olivia Parker ·
Palestinian authorities have recorded more than 74,000 deaths in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, according to a report released Monday by a United Nations commission. The document covers the period from the start of the conflict through September 2026. It concludes that Israeli forces continued to carry out genocidal acts with the intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, even after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect last October.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory stated that Israeli forces used heavy munitions, drones, and artillery in densely populated areas during the truce. The report notes that the Yellow Line, initially a temporary demarcation, has expanded into a de facto border. This shift reflects an increase in Israel’s territorial control over the enclave.
Israel rejected the findings, calling the report part of a misinformation campaign to undermine the country's legitimacy. Ambassador Daniel Meron of the Israeli mission in Geneva said the commission seeks to deny Israel its fundamental right to exist and defend itself. He described the effort to destroy the Jewish state as an ongoing process led by actors like the UN Commission of Inquiry.
The commission also examined conditions in the West Bank, where it accused Israeli soldiers and prison guards of committing war crimes. These violations include extermination, torture, rape, and persecution against civilians. The report documents six recent cases in which Israeli guards used sexual violence against male detainees from Gaza at the Sde Teiman military prison.
Military operations in the West Bank have intensified since January 2025, leading to the largest displacement of Palestinians in the region since 1967. As of August 2026, 34,176 Palestinians remain displaced. The number of Palestinians killed in airstrikes rose sharply, from six between 2008 and October 2023 to 254 between October 2023 and September 2026.
Commission Chair Srinivasan Muralidhar stated that the intentional killing of civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank forms part of a strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians. The commission also criticized the Palestinian Authority for targeting those who voice dissent, noting that journalists and human rights defenders have been killed and injured.
Source: CBC News
