UN Says Hamas-Linked Forces Carried Out 249 Gaza Punishments, Including 108 Deaths
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 9
UN Says Hamas-Linked Forces Carried Out 249 Gaza Punishments, Including 108 Deaths
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 9
Summary
249 documented cases from August 2024 to January 2026 included 108 deaths, with the U.N. saying Hamas-affiliated militants and police executed, beat and maimed Palestinians in acts amounting to war crimes.
The report says the punishments targeted alleged collaborators, looters, drug offenders, anti-Hamas activists and members of rival armed groups, and were often publicized to instill fear rather than imposed through courts.
Video-backed cases cited by investigators included three blindfolded men shot outside Shifa Hospital in September 2025 and eight men dragged into a Gaza City square and executed a month later.
The findings come as Hamas has reconsolidated control in parts of Gaza since an October ceasefire, while the U.N. also separately accused Israeli settlers and state authorities of driving violence and displacement in the West Bank.
Amidst public executions and a stalled peace plan, who can legitimately govern a shattered Gaza?
With both sides accused of war crimes, has international law lost all meaning in this conflict?
As Gazans' priorities shift to survival, could this internal dissent finally break Hamas's grip?
June 2026 UN Inquiry: Documenting Mass Atrocities and War Crimes by Hamas and Israel in Gaza and the West Bank
Overview
In June 2026, the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry released a report highlighting the dire situation for Palestinian civilians, who are caught in mass atrocities committed by Israeli forces, settlers, and Hamas. The report details severe abuses by Hamas-affiliated forces, including extrajudicial punishments, beatings, and public shaming—even of children—often targeting those accused of theft, drug trafficking, or selling tobacco. These acts were sometimes carried out in sensitive places like hospital compounds, but the UN commission found that such activities did not remove hospitals' protection under international law. The findings underscore the urgent need for accountability and protection of civilians.