United Nations investigators have concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to a report released by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI). The commission, which does not speak on behalf of the UN but is mandated by its Human Rights Council, stated that “genocide is occurring in Gaza” and that “the responsibility lies with the State of Israel.” This is the first time a UN-mandated body has made such a determination.
The report, immediately rejected by Israel as “distorted and false,” details findings based on evidence gathered over nearly two years. The commission asserts that Israeli authorities and forces have committed “four of the five genocidal acts” outlined in the 1948 Genocide Convention. These acts include:
- Killing members of the group.
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.
- Deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction.
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
The COI stated that explicit statements from Israeli civilian and military authorities, coupled with the pattern of military actions, indicate that these acts were committed with the “intent to destroy… Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group.”
Accusations of Incitement and Responsibility
The commission also concluded that Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have “incited the commission of genocide.” Furthermore, the report accuses Israeli authorities of failing to take action to punish this incitement, holding “Israeli authorities at the highest echelons” responsible for these crimes.
Navi Pillay, chair of the commission and a former UN human rights chief, emphasized that the evidence should prompt “high-level leaders at the United Nations also to call this what it is, the genocide.” UN rights chief Volker Turk, while noting that a court ultimately determines genocide, warned that “We see the evidence mounting.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has “categorically rejected” the report, calling for the “immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry” and labeling its findings as a “distorted and false” attempt to serve as Hamas proxies.
The report’s release coincides with Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza City, an area where the UN has declared a famine. The commission’s findings are based on extensive evidence, including interviews with victims, witness testimonies, and analyses of satellite imagery.
