UN reports nearly 70 percent of Gaza war casualties are women and children

The United Nations Human Rights Office has verified 8,119 Palestinian deaths in Gaza during the first seven months of Israel’s war on the enclave.

Nearly 70 percent of those confirmed dead were women and children, the UN stated, condemning what it described as Israel’s systematic violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.

“It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement that accompanied the 32-page report.