Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, a two-year United Nations probe has found.
The investigation, carried out by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry, concluded that Israel had “flagrantly disregarded” international law and “orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now”.
This marks the first time a UN body has reached such a conclusion, and is “the strongest and most authoritative UN finding to date”, its authors have said.
The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed the publication as an “antisemitic … distorted and false report”, adding that Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, which sparked this conflict, was itself “attempted genocide”.
In its 72-page report, the UN Commission found that Israel has committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Genocide Convention since October 2023.
The commission also concluded that Israeli president Isaac Herzog, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have incited the commission of genocide.
It warned that UN member states could face legal consequences if they fail to act.
“It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention,” said Navi Pillay, the chair of the commission and a South African jurist who served as the UN high commissioner for human rights until 2014.
“The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons, who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza,” Pillay added.
“The commission finds that the Israeli authorities had no intention to change their course of action. On the contrary, Israeli authorities have persisted and continued with their genocidal campaign in Gaza for almost two years.”
She urged Israel to end the genocide in Gaza and comply fully with the orders for provisional measures of the International Court of Justice.
The Commission said its findings are based on extensive evidence of systematic and unprecedented killings, the destruction of homes and cultural sites, deliberate starvation, denial and destruction of the healthcare system, sexual and gender-based violence, and the direct targeting of children.
It comes on the heels of a report published by the largest professional organisation of scholars studying genocide, which also concluded that Israel is committing genocide. Several international, Palestinian and Israeli organisations, including Amnesty International, have published similar findings.
In response to Tuesday’s report, the Israeli foreign ministry called for the commission to be abolished, and claimed the report relied on Hamas falsehoods, “laundered and repeated by others”.
