A UN Commission of Inquiry has concluded for the first time that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The report, described as the “most authoritative UN finding to date,” was released by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
In a 72-page report, the commission, which was set up by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), found that Israel has “committed four genocidal acts” in the enclave since October 7, 2023, when Hamas carried out deadly attacks on Israel and Israel launched its military campaign.
These acts include the killing of Palestinians in Gaza, causing Palestinians “serious bodily and mental harm,” “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” and “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”
According to the report, the commission found that, along with the statements made by Israeli officials, there was “circumstantial evidence” that led to their findings of genocidal intent.
“The Commission concludes that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
UN Commission of Inquiry report
The commission gave several examples of Palestinian civilians, journalists, healthcare professionals and humanitarian workers being “directly targeted and killed” in Gaza.
It said that these killings occurred in places including homes, hospitals, schools, and religious buildings, both inside designated safe zones and outside of them.
The report noted that Israeli forces have “intentionally killed Palestinian civilians in Gaza by using wide-impact munitions that caused high numbers of deaths.”
Also, the report noted that Israel has “weaponized the withholding of life-sustaining necessities,” specifically by cutting off supplies of water, food, electricity, fuel and other essential supplies, including humanitarian assistance.
The UN report said that Israel’s decision to allow a small amount of aid into Gaza was a “facade” to mislead the international community as it continues to “impose starvation and inhumane living conditions on the Palestinians.”
Additionally, the report brought into question Israel’s war aims, saying that “the extensive and deliberate targeting of Palestinian children” is evidence that military operations are not being conducted solely to defeat Hamas, but to “physically destroy the (Palestinian) group by eliminating not only today’s children but the possibility of them having children in (the) future.”
It said that the children of Gaza are suffering both mentally and physically. It noted that widespread starvation also means that children are “unable to develop speech and meet language milestones” and could be facing potential long-term cognitive issues.
The Commission said that Israel has also refused the entry of formula and special infant milk into Gaza, resulting in the “starvation of new-born and young infants.” It stated that this is “especially powerful evidence of an intention to destroy the population.”
Moreover, the report accused Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of inciting genocide.
This is not the first time that Israel has been formally accused of committing genocide in Gaza.
Earlier this month, the International Association of Genocide Scholars – the world’s largest body of genocide scholars – said that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza.
In July, a pair of leading Israeli human rights groups became the first organizations from Israel to make the claim that their country was “committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
In April this year, Amnesty International found that Israel was committing a “live-streamed genocide” in Gaza with the “specific intent” of wiping out Palestinians.
In 2023, South Africa filed a case at the International Court of Justice against Israel, which claimed that its conduct in Gaza was tantamount to genocide. That case is ongoing.
Israel Rejects Report On Genocide In Gaza
Isreal’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Israel “categorically rejects the distorted and false report and calls for the immediate abolition of the Commission of Inquiry.”
It described the inquiry as a “report that relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods” and accused the authors of being proxies for the militant group “whose horrific statements about Jews have been condemned worldwide.”
Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Daniel Meron, also condemned the inquiry’s findings and referred to it as “scandalous”, “fake”, and a “libelous rant.”
For years, Israel has accused the HRC, which commissioned the report, of having an anti-Israel bias.
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