UN rapporteur: Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian women has desensitized the world to atrocity

UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women Reem Alsalem has condemned Israel for what she described as the systematic killing and abuse of Palestinian women, warning that global inaction has made such atrocities appear acceptable.

Speaking during a UN briefing on Palestinian rights, Alsalem said, “What happens in Palestine does not stay in Palestine,” stressing that the mass killing of women and girls has revealed the extent of international complacency toward crimes committed by Israel.

She said Israel’s actions — including large-scale bombardments of homes, displacement of families, and the deliberate targeting of civilians — have killed “thousands” of women and girls, turning Gaza into what she called a testing ground for impunity.

Alsalem warned that the world’s silence has set a dangerous precedent, normalizing gender-based violence in other wars and crises. She added that existing legal mechanisms are incapable of addressing “the scale and horror” of what Palestinian women are enduring under Israeli attacks.