A United Nations inquiry has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, claiming that the country’s leadership has incited and overseen a campaign aimed at “destroying the Palestinians”
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry – led by former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay – concluded that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur”.
Pillay, an 83-year-old South African judge who once presided over the Rwanda tribunal, told reporters: “Genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur ... The responsibility lies with the State of Israel.”
The report argues that Israeli authorities and forces have carried out four of the five acts defined in the 1948 Genocide Convention: killing members of a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group in whole or in part, and imposing measures to prevent births.
It also highlights statements by Israeli civilian and military leaders as evidence of intent.
Pillay singled out President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of “inciting the commission of genocide” while Israeli authorities failed to act against such rhetoric.
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'Distorted and false'
Israel's foreign ministry blasted the report as “distorted and false”, calling for the “immediate abolition” of the commission. Israeli officials have accused the investigators of acting as “Hamas proxies”, claiming they were “notorious for their openly antisemitic positions”.
“The report relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others,” the ministry said, insisting the inquiry ignored Hamas’s atrocities while singling out Israel for condemnation.
Behind the scenes, Israeli diplomats have long viewed the commission as irredeemably biased, describing it as a “kangaroo court” designed to reach a guilty verdict no matter what evidence was presented.
For Israel’s supporters, the accusations of genocide reflect a broader pattern of international institutions holding the Jewish state to a higher standard than its adversaries.
For Palestinians, the inquiry represents a moment of validation after nearly two years of war.
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Targeting future generations
One of the most striking elements of the UN inquiry centred on reproductive health. Investigators highlighted Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s main fertility centre, the Al-Basma IVF Clinic, which was bombed in December 2023, obliterating some 4,000 embryos along with around 1,000 sperm samples and eggs.
The commission said it had found no credible evidence of any military use of the site, concluding that the attack amounted to “a measure intended to prevent births within the group” – one of the acts defined as genocidal under international law.
Rights groups have echoed that assessment. The organisation Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice described the strike as an act of “reproductive violence” designed to erase Gaza’s future generations, while other NGOs have urged that the targeting of IVF facilities and maternity wards be treated as evidence in international courts.
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Evidence for ICC
The commission stressed that its work is not judicial, but its findings may provide evidence for international courts.
Pillay confirmed her team had already shared “thousands of pieces of information” with the International Criminal Court, which last year issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over alleged war crimes.
According to figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry – which the UN generally treats as reliable – nearly 65,000 people have been killed since Israel’s campaign began in October 2023, most of them civilians.
The UN says almost the entire population has been displaced at least once, while famine has gripped Gaza City as Israeli forces step up their offensive that began after Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel almost two years ago, which left 1,219 people dead.
