UN commission accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza, names Netanyahu
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New York: A United Nations independent commission of inquiry (COI) has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, citing killings, aid blockages, forced displacement, and the destruction of a fertility clinic. The COI also accused senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, of inciting these acts.
The report, published nearly two years after the conflict escalated, states that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur,” said Navi Pillay, the head of the commission and former UN human rights chief. Pillay said the responsibility for these crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest levels, who have “orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza.”
Israel strongly rejected the report. Its foreign ministry called it “categorically false” and demanded the COI’s abolition, while Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, labelled it a “scandalous and libellous rant” written by “Hamas proxies.” Israel has declined to cooperate with the COI, accusing it of political bias.
The report was released as Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza City after weeks of intensive bombardment. According to Gaza’s health ministry, nearly 65,000 people have died since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, while a global hunger monitor warns that parts of Gaza are facing famine.
The COI’s 72-page analysis represents the strongest UN-backed finding to date but does not reflect the official UN position. The UN itself has not formally called the situation genocide, though the international body faces growing pressure to do so.
Israel maintains it is acting in self-defence following Hamas’ deadly assault, which killed 1,200 Israelis and left 251 hostage. The country is also defending itself against genocide allegations at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
The COI cited interviews with victims, witnesses, doctors, verified open-source documents, and satellite imagery, concluding that Israeli authorities and forces have committed “four of the five genocidal acts” listed in the 1948 Genocide Convention. These acts include killing members of a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction, preventing births within the group, and forcibly transferring children to another group.
The investigators said statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities, coupled with patterns of conduct by Israeli forces, indicate the acts were committed “with intent to destroy … Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group.”
The report highlighted a November 2023 letter by Netanyahu to Israeli soldiers comparing the Gaza operation to a “holy war of total annihilation” referenced in the Hebrew Bible. It concluded that Netanyahu, Herzog, and Gallant had “incited the commission of genocide” and that Israeli authorities failed to act against them.
Pillay drew parallels with the Rwandan genocide, warning the international community “cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” saying, “You dehumanise your victims … and therefore, without conscience, you can kill them.”
While the UN has not formally labelled Gaza a genocide, its aid chief urged global leaders in May to “act decisively to prevent genocide,” and its rights chief has condemned Israeli “genocidal rhetoric.” Last January, the ICJ ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, and in April, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity.
