UN Blacklists Israel for Sexual Violence; 981 Killed in Gaza Since Ceasefire
The United Nations has added Israel to its blacklist for sexual violence in conflict, demanding equal accountability alongside other listed nations like Russia, as new data shows 981 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire deal took effect. [171400][169891]
The United Nations has formally placed Israel on its blacklist of countries and armed groups committing sexual violence during conflict, a designation that also includes Russia and carries demands for international sanctions and accountability. The move comes as the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry documented what it calls “grave violations” and “mass atrocities” against Palestinian civilians in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, with victims subjected to systematic abuse by Israeli forces and settlers as well as by Hamas-linked groups. [169123][168938][171400]
According to UN data, Israeli military operations have killed 72,991 Palestinians since October 7, 2023, including 981 deaths in the eight months following the ceasefire agreement brokered in October 2025. [169891] The ceasefire was supposed to bring an immediate end to hostilities and unlimited humanitarian aid, but nearly 1,000 people have died since it took effect, with victims reported every day. [169837]
In a separate development, Israel barred French journalist Alice Froussard of Radio France Internationale (RFI) from entering the West Bank, accusing her without public evidence of supporting Hamas. [171328][170598] The expulsion is part of a broader tightening of control over foreign media coverage, as Israel has maintained a total closure of the Gaza Strip to international journalists since October 7, 2023. During that period, more than 260 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza, according to local reports. [171328]
New video evidence also emerged contradicting the Israeli military’s account of the killing of seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal in the occupied West Bank. The footage shows the family’s car slowing near a military post before soldiers opened fire, killing the infant in his mother’s arms and wounding both parents. [169921]
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, warned that conditions in Gaza and the West Bank are rapidly deteriorating, describing Gaza as “trapped in devastation” and reporting escalating attacks by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank. [170826]