A United Nations inquiry has found that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, citing evidence of mass killings, deliberate starvation, and conditions designed to destroy the population.
In a detailed report released on Tuesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, said it had found reasonable grounds to conclude that Israeli authorities and security forces had carried out four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law since the start of the war with Hamas in 2023.
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The panel said these included killing members of a group, causing serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting life-threatening conditions, and preventing births.
“The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission and former UN human rights chief.
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“It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria outlined in the Genocide Convention.”
Israel has rejected the findings, calling them distorted and politically motivated.
Findings of the Commission
The report placed responsibility on Israeli civilian and military leaders. It cited “explicit statements” by senior officials denigrating Palestinians.
According to the UN inquiry, genocidal intent could be inferred from the scale and nature of Israeli military operations, including the destruction of civilian infrastructure, the imposition of a siege, and the denial of humanitarian assistance.
The panel also examined what it described as the “systematic destruction” of healthcare and education facilities, the use of starvation as a weapon of war, sexual and gender-based violence, and the targeting of children.
It noted that Israel had disregarded an earlier order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in March 2024, which instructed it to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza.
“The international community cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Ms Pillay said. “When clear signs and evidence of genocide emerge, the absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity.”
The evidence showed that responsibility for these atrocities “lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons,” she said.
Humanitarian Conditions in Gaza
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly one million people remain trapped in Gaza City amid relentless bombardment, confirmed famine, and “compromised access to means of survival” after Israeli forces placed the entire city under a displacement order.
The commission said these conditions amounted to the deliberate infliction of life-threatening circumstances on the population.
Israel’s Response
Israel’s foreign ministry has rejected the report, describing it as “distorted and false.”
Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, denounced what he called “cherry-picked” findings that promote “a narrative serving Hamas and its supporters in attempting to delegitimise and demonise the state of Israel.”
He added: “The report falsely accuses Israel of genocidal intent, an allegation it cannot substantiate.”
At a press conference in Geneva, Mr Meron described the inquiry’s conclusions as “scandalous” and “fake,” accusing its authors of being “Hamas proxies.” He said Israel would not cooperate with the commission, which he claimed had a political agenda against the country.
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Reuters reported Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the findings. He said the inquiry misinterpreted his remarks and ignored the context of Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks, which triggered the war.
“While Israel defends its people and seeks the return of hostages, this morally bankrupt Commission obsesses over blaming the Jewish state, whitewashing Hamas’s atrocities, and turning victims of one of the worst massacres of modern times into the accused,” Mr Herzog said, according to Reuters.
The UN Commission has urged Israel and all states to fulfil their legal obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention, including taking steps to halt the violence and prosecute those responsible.
“All States are under a legal obligation to use all means that are reasonably available to them to stop the genocide in Gaza,” Ms Pillay said.
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