UN Commission: Genocide Is Happening in Gaza, Responsibility Lies With Israel
GENEVA – A United Nations inquiry has found that genocide is ongoing in Gaza, placing responsibility squarely on Israel. Navi Pillay, head of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), told AFP that the findings show “the responsibility lies with the State of Israel.”
The commission, which investigates human rights conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories, released its report nearly two years after the deadly October 7, 2023, Hamas attack inside Israel sparked the latest Gaza war.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, which the UN considers a reliable source, almost 65,000 people have died since the conflict began. Most residents have been displaced at least once, and mass displacement continues as Israeli forces advance on Gaza City, where the UN has declared a full-scale famine.
The COI concluded that Israeli authorities and forces have carried out “four of the five genocidal acts” outlined in the 1948 Genocide Convention. These include killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, creating living conditions intended to destroy the group, and imposing measures to prevent births within the group.
Pillay said the commission found clear evidence that these acts were carried out with “intent to destroy … Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group.” The report also accuses top Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, of inciting genocide, adding that Israeli authorities have failed to hold them accountable.
“The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons,” Pillay, 83, said. She is a former South African judge who led the Rwanda tribunal and previously served as UN human rights chief.
While the COI does not have legal authority, its reports carry significant diplomatic weight and can contribute evidence for international courts. Pillay confirmed that the commission has shared thousands of pieces of information with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“The international community cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” she said. “The absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity.”
Israel has consistently denied accusations of genocide, despite criticism from NGOs, independent UN experts, and international legal bodies. The UN itself has not officially called the situation genocide, although its aid chief urged decisive action in May, and its human rights chief recently condemned Israeli “genocidal rhetoric.”
In January 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. Four months later, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. In response, the U.S. Trump administration last month imposed sanctions on two ICC judges and two prosecutors, freezing their U.S. assets and barring entry into the country.
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