U.N. Panel Reports Allegations of Genocide by Israel in Gaza

An autonomous body of experts, under the United Nations Human Rights Council, has purportedly determined that Israeli officials and forces have engaged in and persist in actions amounting to genocide against Palestinians within the Gaza region.

Released on Tuesday, the report from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel, originally set up by the HRC in 2021, presents analysis of alleged human rights violations by various entities following Israel's military action prompted by the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.

During a media address on Tuesday, Navi Pillay, who chairs the commission, declared, "The phrase 'never again' rings hollow today as we witness ongoing genocide in Gaza—a profound ethical scandal and a crisis demanding swift legal action. It is imperative that nations employ all possible measures to halt these acts, ensuring justice is served for crimes already enacted and preventing further atrocities in Gaza and all occupied Palestinian territories."

The report was starkly criticized by Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar as baseless.

"This document merely recycles the mistruths propagated by Hamas, discredited and reiterated by others," Saar stated, echoing Israel's consistent objections to allegations of genocide. "Contrary to the report's claims, it is Hamas who has pursued genocidal actions in Israel, having been responsible for the deaths of 1,200 people, widespread violence against women, and the haunting destruction of families—all while publicly aiming for the extermination of Jewish people."

Genocide comprises a deliberate series of acts aimed at the partial or total obliteration of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

Such acts incorporate causing substantial physical or psychological harm to the group; engineering conditions aiming to physically obliterate the group either wholly or partly; enforcing practices to hinder births within the group, and forcibly relocating children to different groups.

The commission asserts that it has substantiated claims that Israeli authorities and military personnel have committed and continue to commit acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, encompassing (i) the killing of group members, (ii) infliction of grave physical or mental harm, (iii) imposing existentially destructive living conditions, and (iv) implementing birth prevention measures.

Additionally, remarks from Israeli leaders are cited as providing "clear evidence of genocidal intent," further supported by circumstantial evidence of similar intents. Thus, the commission claims the leaders have aimed to annihilate the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip either in part or wholly.

Upon examination, the commission concluded figures such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had actively encouraged genocide while Israeli authorities failed to take punitive action against this incitement.

According to their findings, Israel holds culpability for not preemptively curtailing, perpetrating, or penalizing genocidal acts against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The commission stressed the necessity for Israel to "abort the genocide occurring in the Gaza Strip immediately" and initiate a long-term ceasefire, ensuring unimpeded humanitarian assistance is available to the Palestinians. Additionally, it urged U.N. member states to employ feasible means to curb the genocide, which includes ceasing arms and equipment provision to Israel.

Prior accusations against Israel for committing genocide on Palestinians in Gaza have been voiced by numerous academics and both international and Israeli human rights organizations.

In August, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, a body of specialists on the subject, asserted that Israel's tactics in Gaza since the inception of the war suggest genocide as well as violations of international laws regarding war and human dignity. Despite facing substantial critique from Israeli officials and Jewish organizations over membership protocols, the group modified its membership processes in response to alleged harassment campaigns.

In July, allegations of genocide were also brought forward against Israel by an Israeli rights group and a medical organization known as Physicians for Human Rights.

Moreover, a legal challenge led by South Africa’s government accusing Israeli forces of genocide is currently under review by the International Court of Justice.

Israel has consistently rebuffed these allegations, asserting they are "prejudiced and inaccurate," stemming from disinformation propagated by Hamas.