A major thematic report released by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has raised grave concerns regarding the Israeli Defense Forces' compliance with International Humanitarian Law during the final quarter of 2023. The documentation focuses primarily on the deployment of heavy explosive weapons in the most densely populated areas of Gaza, suggesting a systematic failure to uphold the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution. Between October 7 and December 2023, the scale of death in the region reached unprecedented levels, with the Israeli Air Force striking over 29,000 targets within just four months. As of mid-June 2024, reports indicate that more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed, with women and children constituting the majority of fatalities, while over 60 percent of housing units in the strip have been destroyed or seriously damaged. The OHCHR notes that 87 percent of verified fatalities occurred in incidents involving five or more deaths, which implies that the chosen means and methods of warfare failed to effectively distinguish between combatants and the civilian population.

To illustrate these legal concerns, the United Nations documented six emblematic incidents where high-payload munitions, such as the GBU-31 2,000-pound bomb, were dropped on residential blocks and markets. These include the October 9 strike on the Jabalya market that killed at least 42 civilians without warning and the October 25 destruction of the Taj 3 Tower, which resulted in 105 deaths, including 47 children. Other documented cases involve the October 31 strike on Jabalya Refugee Camp that killed 56 people and the November 2 attack on Al Bureij Camp resulting in 15 verified fatalities. Furthermore, at least 34 people were killed at the Al Buraq school on November 10, and approximately nine GBU-31 bombs were utilized on December 2 in the Ash Shujai’yeh neighborhood, killing at least 60 people to target a single commander.

The legal analysis provided by the OHCHR argues that the use of massive explosive weapons in dense urban environments makes significant civilian harm entirely foreseeable. Regarding the principle of distinction, the UN suggests the military may have utilized an expansive approach to targeting by treating civilian administrators and political structures as legitimate military targets. The report further contends that it is difficult to justify the killing of dozens of civilians to eliminate a single commander under the principle of proportionality. Additionally, in five of the six documented cases, investigators found no evidence that effective advance warnings were provided to the civilian population. These findings stress that such violations, if committed intentionally, may amount to war crimes. While internal assessments are reportedly underway, the UN remains concerned about the independence of these processes and concludes that if domestic accountability is not achieved, international mechanisms such as the International Criminal Court must be supported.