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September 16, 2025 – Palestine –
A United Nations commission of inquiry has declared that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, citing four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law. In its latest 72-page report, the commission found reasonable grounds to conclude that Israeli forces carried out killings, inflicted serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately imposed destructive conditions of life, and prevented births. These findings were backed by analysis of official statements, including incendiary remarks from Israeli leaders, and a documented pattern of conduct during the war that began on 7 October 2023.
The report points to the destruction of homes, health systems, and vital infrastructure, as well as widespread displacement and famine conditions, as evidence of genocidal intent. It highlights the December 2023 strike on Gaza’s largest fertility clinic, which destroyed thousands of embryos and sperm samples, as part of reproductive violence aimed at preventing births. Statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and President Isaac Herzog were cited as incitement to genocide, with Gallant’s reference to Palestinians as “human animals” singled out as particularly revealing.
Israel’s foreign ministry categorically rejected the report, denouncing it as “distorted and false” and accusing the commission’s three experts of acting as “Hamas proxies.” Israeli officials insisted their operations are acts of self-defence against Hamas, which killed 1,200 people in the October 2023 attack and continues to hold hostages. An Israeli military spokesperson dismissed the findings as “baseless,” arguing that no other country has taken greater measures to prevent civilian harm.
The commission, chaired by former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay, concluded that Israel bears state responsibility for committing genocide, failing to prevent it, and failing to punish it. It also warned that under the Genocide Convention, other states now have an immediate obligation to prevent and punish the crime or risk being complicit. While the commission does not speak officially for the UN, its findings represent the strongest international assessment to date on the Gaza war. The case is also before the International Court of Justice, though a final ruling could take years.
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