A United Nations panel, UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, has concluded in its report that Israel has committed genocide in its war on Gaza.
The report cites Israeli top leaders as being responsible for the genocide. The finding, announced Tuesday, marks a rare instance of a UN body declaring genocide in Gaza. But a consortium of global genocide scholars has already declared that Israeli actions in Gaza constitute a genocide.
The UN inquiry, chaired by Navi Pillay, identifies Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as accountable on the basis of statements they have made and military orders they have issued, concluding that these are consistent with genocidal intent.
Evidence cited in the report includes the use of “wide‑impact munitions” that have intentionally killed civilians, tactics like blocking or denying humanitarian aid, large‑scale forced displacement, destruction of infrastructure, and rhetoric by officials which the commission views as dehumanizing and intended to destroy Palestinians.
An immediate response came from the Israeli side, rejected the findings of the inquiry. Foreign Affairs Ministry called the report “fake” and accused the commission of being “serving as Hamas proxies.”
Read More: Israeli Rights Groups Accuse Government of Genocide in Gaza
Israel’s UN Ambassador Daniel Meron also condemned the inquiry as “scandalous,” calling it misleading and defamatory.
While the UN Commission’s report does not itself carry legal force, it strengthens global calls for accountability, and can potentially influence legal proceedings, arms embargoes, or other such measures.
Before the inquiry’s report, hundreds of UN human rights staff urged senior rights officials to recognize the conflict in Gaza explicitly as genocide. Many countries are also set to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly later this month.
The report serves as a stronger push for all such countries, some of which are also deliberating sanctions on Israel.
The findings of the UN inquiry surface when Israel is warning Palestinians in Gaza of a ground offensive and is intensifying aggression by the day.
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