GENEVA: The United Nations demanded Monday that Israel take measures to prevent acts of "genocide" in Gaza and decried indications of "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territory and in the occupied West Bank.

In a fresh report, the UN rights office said Israel’s actions in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023 involved "gross violations" of international law, amounting in many cases to "war crimes and other atrocity crimes".

The UN rights chief Volker Turk called on Israel to ensure compliance with a 2024 International Court of Justice order that it take measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.

Israel should ensure "with immediate effect that its military does not engage in acts of genocide, (and take) all measures to prevent and punish incitement to commit genocide".

The report covered the period from October 7, 2023, when Hamas’s unprecedented attack inside Israel sparked the Gaza war, up to May 2025.

It also condemned "serious violations" by Palestinian armed groups during the initial attack and after, including abuse of hostages.

Most of the focus was on Israel’s actions in Gaza, where its retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 72,000 people according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The report warned that Israel had directed attacks on civilian objects, causing unlawful killings and displacement.

It also charged that Israel intends to force Palestinians from their homes permanently.

Taken together, these actions indicate a pattern aimed at collective punishment of Palestinians, forced displacement, and ethnic cleansing.

The rights office stressed that it is essential there be due reckoning for all violations listed in the report through credible and impartial judicial bodies.