UN Commission Confirms Genocide by Israel in Gaza

A United Nations commission of inquiry has stated that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. A recent report indicates that there are reasonable grounds to conclude that four out of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been carried out since the war with Hamas began in 2023. These acts include:

1. Killing members of a group.
2. Causing serious bodily and mental harm.
3. Deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group.
4. Preventing births.

The report cites statements from Israeli leaders and the conduct patterns of Israeli forces as evidence of genocidal intent.

The majority of the population has faced repeated displacement, with more than 90% of homes estimated to be damaged or destroyed. The healthcare, water, sanitation, and hygiene systems have collapsed, leading UN-backed food security experts to declare a famine in Gaza City.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The three-member expert panel is chaired by Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief from South Africa, who previously presided over the international tribunal for Rwanda’s genocide.

The commission’s latest report found that Israeli authorities and forces have committed four of the five acts of genocide as defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention against a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group—in this case, the Palestinians in Gaza. To fulfill the legal definition of genocide under the Genocide Convention, it must be established that the perpetrator acted with specific intent to destroy the group, in whole or in part.

The commission analyzed statements made by Israeli leaders, alleging that President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have “incited the commission of genocide.” The commission states that “genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference” that could be drawn from the conduct of Israeli authorities and security forces in Gaza.

The commission describes a pattern of conduct that includes intentionally killing and seriously harming an unprecedented number of Palestinians with heavy munitions; systematic and widespread attacks on religious, cultural, and educational sites; and imposing a siege on Gaza that has starved its population.

“As early as October 7, 2023, Netanyahu vowed to inflict ‘mighty vengeance’ on ‘all of the places where Hamas is deployed, hiding and operating in, that wicked city, we will turn them into rubble,'” Pillay stated in an interview. “His use of the phrase ‘wicked city’ implied that he viewed the entire city of Gaza as responsible and a target for vengeance. He also told Palestinians to ‘leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere.'”

Pillay added, “It took us two years to gather all the actions and make factual findings. It’s only the facts that will direct you. You can only bring it under the Genocide Convention if those acts were done with this intention.”

The commission asserts that the actions of Israeli political and military leaders are “attributable to the State of Israel,” meaning that the state bears responsibility for failing to prevent genocide, committing genocide, and failing to punish genocide. It warns that all other countries have an immediate obligation under the Genocide Convention to “prevent and punish the crime of genocide,” using all measures at their disposal. Failure to do so could render them complicit.

“We have not gone so far as to name parties as co-conspirators or complicit in genocide. But that is the ongoing work of this commission. They will get there,” Pillay remarked.

Numerous international and Israeli human rights organizations, independent UN experts, and scholars have also accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing a case brought by South Africa, which accuses Israeli forces of genocide.