UN Commission: Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza — States Must Act Now

On Tuesday, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The 72-page report states that Israeli authorities and security forces have carried out four of the five acts prohibited under the 1948 Genocide Convention: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy the group, and imposing measures to prevent births.

The Commission confirms that genocidal intent is evident from both Israeli leaders’ statements and the pattern of military conduct since October 2023. It cites explicit incitement to genocide by President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, whose words have called Palestinians “human animals,” labelled Gaza a “wicked city,” and targeted the entire population as responsible for Hamas’s attack.

The report documents mass killing, destruction, and forced displacement: at least 64,964 Palestinians killed, more than 90% of homes damaged or destroyed, repeated mass expulsions, and the collapse of health, water, and sanitation systems. UN-backed experts have declared a famine in Gaza City.

The Commission holds the State of Israel responsible for failing to prevent genocide, committing genocide, and failing to punish those responsible. It demands an immediate and permanent ceasefire, an end to the policy of starvation, full humanitarian access, and the prosecution of Israeli political and military leaders for incitement to genocide.

It calls on all states to act now to stop genocide: end arms transfers to Israel, cut off the supply chains that sustain its assault, sanction those aiding its crimes, and fulfil their legal duty to prevent and punish genocide.