UN inquiry finds Israel committing genocide in Gaza

‘A United Nations Commission of Inquiry says Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. ‘A new report says there are reasonable grounds to conclude that four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been carried out since the start of the war with Hamas in 2023: killing members of a group, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group, and preventing births, the BBC reports.

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It cites statements by Israeli leaders, and the pattern of conduct by Israeli forces, as evidence of genocidal intent.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

At least 64,905 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Most of the population has also been repeatedly displaced; more than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and UN-backed food security experts have declared a famine in Gaza City.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

The commission’s latest report alleges that Israeli authorities and Israeli forces have committed four of the five acts of genocide defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention against a national, ethnic, racial or religious group — in this case, Palestinians in Gaza.