The report is intended to be detailed and damning, presenting evidence it says shows that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. It says that Israel has breached the Genocide Convention that was passed in 1948 by the newly established United Nations. The word genocide, and the convention that defined it as a crime, were directly inspired by the genocide of six million Jews by Nazi Germany.
Israel denies all allegations that its conduct in Gaza has broken the treaties and conventions that make up the laws of war and international humanitarian law. It justifies its actions as self-defence, in protection of its citizens and to force the release of the hostages taken by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on 7 October 2023, around 20 of whom are believed still to be alive.
The Israelis have dismissed the report as antisemitic lies inspired by Hamas. It was compiled by a commission of inquiry set up by the UN Human Rights Council. Israel and the US are boycotting the Council, which both countries say is biased against them.
But the findings of the report will feed into the growing international condemnation of Israel's conduct, which is also coming from Israel's traditional western allies as well as the Gulf Arab monarchies that normalised relations with Israel in the Abraham Accords.
Next week at the UN General Assembly in New York, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada and others are due to join the majority of UN members by recognising the sovereignty of an independent Palestinian state.
The move will be more than symbolic. It will change the debate about the future of the conflict that began more than a century ago when Zionist Jews from Europe came to settle in Palestine. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has condemned recognition as antisemitic, and a reward for Hamas terrorism.
Genocide is defined in the 1948 convention, as the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group – in this case, Palestinians in Gaza. The report details actions against Palestinians inside Gaza and in jails inside Israel, charging Israeli forces with targeting civilians and imposing inhumane conditions, including deprivation of food, water, and medicines, contributing to widespread starvation.
The report also mentions forced displacement of civilians in Gaza City and claims that Israeli actions are aimed at preventing births among the Palestinian population. Three Israeli officials have been named for inciting genocide, with serious implications for international legal proceedings that might follow.
The situation has led to a severe humanitarian crisis, with accusations of famine and suffering resonating globally. International reactions are polarized, with some advocating for immediate ceasefire and others supporting Israel's stance, further intensifying the global discourse around the Israel-Palestine conflict.
