Ednews reports through France24 that on Monday 19 February, UN experts reported accusations of violence, particularly sexual violence, against Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the West Bank, attributed to Israeli forces. They demanded an "independent and impartial investigation" and urged Israel to cooperate. 

Appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, the seven independent experts are alarmed by "flagrant violations of human rights" based on "credible allegations".

To gather this information, the team of seven experts relied on a variety of sources, including "testimonies from victims and eyewitnesses, but also from civil or international organisations working with civilians", explains Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences.

"We then cross-checked this information with other sources to assess its credibility". She explains that she received this data directly by e-mail, telephone or through tools such as Zoom, and stresses that it is "often impossible to give more details, as this could endanger the sources".