A United Nations commission of inquiry has concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a finding Israel has categorically rejected.
In a 72-page report released on Tuesday, the commission said there were “reasonable grounds to conclude” that Israel had committed four of the five genocidal acts under the 1948 Genocide Convention. These included “killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group, and preventing births.”
Navi Pillay, chair of the commission and a former UN human rights chief, said: “The committee concluded that Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people. Genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference from the pattern of conduct by Israeli authorities and security forces.”
Israel’s foreign ministry denounced the report as “distorted and false,” accusing the commission of serving as “Hamas proxies” and relying “entirely on Hamas falsehoods.” It added: “In stark contrast to the lies in the report, Hamas is the party that attempted genocide in Israel, murdering 1,200 people, raping women, burning families alive, and openly declaring its goal of killing every Jew.”
An Israeli military official dismissed the findings as “baseless”, saying: “No other country has operated in these conditions and done so much to prevent harm to civilians on the battlefield.”
The report cited statements by Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow on 7 October 2023 to inflict “mighty vengeance” and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s reference to Palestinians as “human animals.” Pillay noted: “It took us two years to gather all the actions and make factual findings. It is only the facts that will direct you.”
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 64,900 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war began. The commission warned that all states are obliged under international law to “prevent and punish the crime of genocide” or risk complicity.
