A United Nations commission of inquiry has concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials of inciting and orchestrating the campaign.
The commission, led by Navi Pillay, a former judge at the International Criminal Court, cited mass civilian casualties, blockages of humanitarian aid, forced displacement, and even the destruction of a fertility clinic as evidence of genocidal acts.
“Genocide is occurring in Gaza,” Pillay said. “The responsibility for these crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons, who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza.”
The findings are detailed in a 72-page report, based on interviews with victims, witnesses, and doctors, along with satellite imagery and verified open-source evidence collected since the start of the war. The commission identified four genocidal acts: killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately creating conditions intended to destroy Palestinians in whole or in part, and imposing measures to prevent births.
Direct statements by Israeli leaders, including a November 2023 letter from Netanyahu to Israeli soldiers describing the Gaza campaign as a “holy war of total annihilation,” were cited as proof of genocidal intent.
Israel, which declined to cooperate with the inquiry, rejected the findings. Its diplomatic mission in Geneva accused the commission of harboring a political agenda. Israeli officials maintain their military actions are acts of self-defense following Hamas’s October 2023 attacks, which killed 1,200 civilians and saw 250 others taken hostage—the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust, according to Israeli figures.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that more than 64,000 civilians have been killed in Israeli strikes.
The commission stressed that while it is independent and does not speak on behalf of the United Nations, its mandate is to investigate alleged violations of international law. Israel also faces a separate genocide case at the International Court of Justice, brought by South Africa.
Under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, genocide is defined as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.