UN Inquiry Finds Israel Responsible for Genocide in Gaza

A United Nations commission has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza^[1], citing both official statements and the scale of destruction across the territory. The findings, presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, mark the strongest assessment yet by a UN investigative body since the war began in October 2023.

Image: Emad El Byed / Unsplash^[2]

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry determined that four of the five acts defined under the Genocide Convention have been carried out by Israeli authorities and security forces. These acts include mass killings, widespread bodily and psychological harm, deliberate conditions aimed at destroying the population, and measures preventing births. Evidence was drawn from the devastation of Gaza’s infrastructure, forced displacement of civilians, destruction of healthcare and sanitation systems, and even an assault on fertility services that wiped out thousands of embryos and reproductive samples.

The panel highlighted repeated statements from Israeli leaders that framed the population of Gaza as collectively responsible for the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023. Alongside those declarations, the pattern of military operations, heavy bombardments, restrictions on food and fuel, and systematic targeting of civilian areas, was judged to reveal intent to eliminate the group in whole or in part. The commission stated that these actions are attributable to the State of Israel itself, which therefore bears responsibility under international law for genocide and for failing to prevent or punish it.

Figures cited in the report underscore the severity of the conflict. According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 160,000 injured since the start of Israel’s campaign. Entire neighborhoods have been levelled, over ninety percent of homes are estimated to be destroyed or damaged, and food security experts backed by the UN have declared a famine in Gaza City. Repeated mass evacuations have displaced the majority of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents.

Israel’s government (as usual) has dismissed the commission’s work as biased and false, insisting that its military actions target armed groups in self-defense and are conducted in line with international law. Officials argued that the findings rely on Hamas-provided information and accused the inquiry’s members of acting as political proxies.

This is not the first international attempt to address the issue of genocide in Gaza. In 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, a process that remains ongoing. Amnesty International^[3] has also documented what it described as systematic efforts to wipe out the Palestinian population, reinforcing the commission’s assessment.

The UN inquiry went beyond Gaza, warning that the intent to destroy may also extend to the wider occupied Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It urged member states to fulfill their obligations under the Genocide Convention by preventing further crimes, halting arms transfers, and ensuring unrestricted humanitarian access.

Despite these calls, fighting on the ground has escalated. Israeli forces have pushed deeper into Gaza City, with dozens of additional civilian deaths reported on the day the inquiry’s findings were published.

Broader Implications

The report places new pressure on governments that have supported Israel throughout the conflict. Under international law, states that fail to act against genocide risk complicity themselves. The inquiry stressed that the situation has reached a point where legal obligations and moral responsibilities intersect, leaving little space for neutrality.

The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen. With infrastructure in ruins, public health collapsing, and mass displacement becoming routine, the survival of Palestinians in Gaza is increasingly uncertain. Human rights groups argue that the world cannot claim ignorance of the scale of the crisis.

When nations or institutions lend their support to aggression, even indirectly, they share responsibility for the harm that follows. To stand with those who commit mass killings is to accept a role in the destruction itself. History shows that power without conscience corrodes the very foundation of human dignity. By aligning with injustice, governments and corporations alike strip themselves of the moral ground they claim to uphold. What is lost is not only the lives of the innocent but also the credibility and values of those who chose convenience over conscience.

Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools.

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