U.N. commission concludes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

An independent panel of experts commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council has concluded “on reasonable grounds that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have committed and are continuing to commit” acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In its report published Tuesday, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel — which was established by the HRC in 2021 — said it had collected and analyzed evidence in relation to alleged human rights violations committed by all parties in the Israel-Hamas war, which Israel launched in response to the Hamas-orchestrated Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack.

“Today, we witness in real time how the promise of ‘never again’ is broken and tested in the eyes of the world. The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a moral outrage and a legal emergency,” Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission, said at a Tuesday news briefing. “There is no need to wait for the International Court of Justice to declare it a genocide. All states are obligated to use whatever means within its (their) power to prevent the commission of genocide. And so we urge member states to ensure accountability for any crimes that have been committed and prevent further crimes from being committed, not just in Gaza, but the entire occupied Palestinian territory.”

Israeli’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the report “fake.”

“The report relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others,” Saar said, echoing the language used in past Israeli government statements responding to accusations it is committing genocide. “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.”

Genocide is defined under international law as the commission of certain acts against a group “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

Those acts include “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group,” and “forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”

In its report, the commission said it found that Israeli authorities and security forces, “have committed and are continuing to commit the following actus reus of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, namely (i) killing members of the group; (ii) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (iii) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (iv) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”

The commission also said statements made by Israeli authorities have demonstrated “direct evidence of genocidal intent,” and that, alongside circumstantial evidence of similar intent, “the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have had and continue to have the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

Based on its analysis, the commission said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had, “incited the commission of genocide and that Israeli authorities have failed to take action against them to punish the incitement.”

“The Commission concludes that the State of Israel bears responsibility for the failure to prevent genocide, the comission of genocide and the failure to punish genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” the report said.

“The commission has not fully assessed statements by other Israeli political and military leaders, including Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, and considers that they too should be assessed to determine whether they constitute incitement to commit genocide,” the commission added.

The report said Israel should “immediately end the commission of genocide in the Gaza Strip” and implement a permanent ceasefire, allowing the free flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory. It also called on other U.N. member states to “employ all means reasonably available to them to prevent the commission of genocide in the Gaza Strip,” including stopping the transfer of arms and other equipment to Israel.

A number of scholars and international and Israeli human rights groups had previously accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In August, the International Association of Genocide Scholars — a group of academics specializing in the subject — declared in a resolution that Israel’s actions in Gaza since the 22-month war began constitute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The group has in turn faced heavy criticism from Israeli officials and Jewish groups about the way they operate and acquire members, though they have since suspended their membership system in response to what they call a “campaign of spam and harassment.”

In July, Israeli rights group B’Tselem and the Physicians for Human Rights organization accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The International Court of Justice is also hearing a case, brought by South Africa’s government, that accuses Israeli forces of committing genocide. 

Israel has dismissed all of the claims, insisting they are “biased and false” and based on misinformation spread by Hamas.