Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, said in a report released on 16 September 2025.
Geneva – A United Nations investigation concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza through a coordinated campaign of destruction that has persisted for nearly two years, according to a landmark report released Tuesday.
The findings, which mark the strongest UN condemnation to date, accuse top Israeli officials of inciting and orchestrating atrocities intended to eliminate Palestinians in Gaza “in whole or in part”.
Key Findings
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, chaired by former International Criminal Court judge Navi Pillay, found that Israeli authorities committed four of the five acts defined by the 1948 Genocide Convention, including killing, causing serious bodily harm, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the population, and imposing measures to prevent births.
“The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza,” said Pillay during a press briefing in Geneva. “It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention”.
The report cited explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military leaders, along with patterns of conduct such as blocking humanitarian aid, destroying healthcare and education systems, and targeting children and cultural sites. Pillay emphasized that genocidal intent was the “only reasonable inference” from Israel’s operations.
Israeli Response
Israel immediately rejected the report as “scandalous” and “fake.” Israeli Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, accused the commission of being “Hamas proxies” and operating with a political agenda.
President Isaac Herzog, who was named in the report, argued that it misinterpreted his words and ignored Hamas’s atrocities on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and resulted in 251 hostages. “While Israel defends its people and seeks the return of hostages, this morally bankrupt Commission obsesses over blaming the Jewish state,” Herzog said.
International Context and Comparisons
The commission’s report adds pressure to ongoing proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where Israel is fighting a genocide case. Pillay, who previously headed a UN tribunal for Rwanda, compared the situation to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, noting that the dehumanization of victims enabled systematic violence.
The report also condemned Israel’s disregard for ICJ provisional measures and warnings from member states, UN offices, and human rights groups. “Israel has flagrantly disregarded orders… and continued the strategy of destruction,” Pillay stated.
Recommendations and Global Obligations
The commission urged all states to fulfill their legal obligations under international law, including ceasing arms transfers to Israel and pursuing accountability through investigations and legal proceedings. It called on Israel to lift its siege, ensure unimpeded humanitarian access, and end activities that obstruct aid delivery.
“The international community cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Pillay said. “Every day of inaction costs lives and erodes the credibility of the international community”.
Methodology and Evidence
The report drew on two years of investigations, including interviews with victims, witnesses, and doctors; verified open-source documents; and satellite imagery analysis. It applied the legal standard of “only reasonable inference” established by the ICJ in the Bosnia v. Serbia case to determine genocidal intent.
Statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and other officials were cited as direct evidence of intent. The report highlighted Netanyahu’s November 2023 letter to soldiers comparing Gaza operations to a “holy war of total annihilation”.
Conclusion
The commission’s findings represent the most comprehensive legal analysis of the conflict to date, though the body is independent and does not officially speak for the United Nations. As the war continues—with over 64,000 killed in Gaza, according to local health officials—the report underscores the urgency of international action to prevent further atrocities.
Key Recommendations:
- Arms embargo on Israel.
- Legal actions against officials and corporations complicit in genocide.
- Immediate humanitarian access and compliance with ICJ measures.
Commission of Inquiry: Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have committed and are continuing to commit genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip – Report (A/HRC/60/CRP.3)
16 September 2025
A/HRC/60/CRP.3
Human Rights Council
Sixtieth session
Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Conference room paper of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
The complete report is available below as a PDF or via this link.
/…
VII. Conclusions
- The Commission’s analysis in this report relates solely to the determination of genocide under the Genocide Convention as it relates to the responsibility of the State of Israel both for the failure to prevent genocide, for committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023 and for the failure to punish The Commission also notes that, while its analysis is limited to the Palestinians specifically in Gaza during the period since 7 October 2023, it nevertheless raises the serious concern that the specific intent to destroy the Palestinians as a whole has extended to the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, that is, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, based on Israeli authorities’ and Israeli security forces’ actions therein, and to the period before 7 October 2023. The events in Gaza since 7 October 2023 have not occurred in isolation, as the Commission has noted. They were preceded by decades of unlawful occupation and repression under an ideology requiring the removal of the Palestinian population from their lands and its replacement.
- The Commission concludes on reasonable grounds that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have committed and are continuing to commit the following actus reus of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, namely (i) killing members of the group; (ii) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (iii) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (iv) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
- On incitement to genocide, the Commission concludes that Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, have incited the commission of genocide and that Israeli authorities have failed to take action against them to punish this The Commission has not fully assessed statements by other Israeli political and military leaders, including Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister for Finance Bezalel Smotrich, and considers that they too should be assessed to determine whether they constitute incitement to commit genocide.
- On the mens rea of genocide, the Commission concludes that statements made by Israeli authorities are direct evidence of genocidal In addition, the Commission concludes that the pattern of conduct is circumstantial evidence of genocidal intent and that genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference that could be drawn from the totality of the evidence. Thus, the Commission concludes that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have had and continue to have the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
- The Commission concludes that the State of Israel bears responsibility for the failure to prevent genocide, the commission of genocide and the failure to punish genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
VIII. Recommendations
- The Commission recommends that the Government of Israel:
- Immediately end the commission of genocide in the Gaza Strip and comply fully with the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice in its orders of 26 January, 28 March and 24 May 2024;
- Immediately implement a complete permanent ceasefire in Gaza and end all military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory that involve the commission of genocidal acts;
- Restore, allow and ensure unhindered access of all United Nations staff, including UNRWA international staff, and all international agencies coordinating or providing humanitarian aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem;
- Immediately end its policy on starvation and end the distribution of food aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation;
- Ensure full, unimpeded access of humanitarian aid at scale and through multiple distribution points throughout the Gaza Strip, including food, clean water, medical equipment and medicine to all areas of Gaza through a UN-led humanitarian response;
- Allow, facilitate and ensure unhindered medical evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza to third States;
- Allow, facilitate and ensure the unhindered access to Gaza by emergency medical teams;
- Allow the Commission access to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, to continue its investigations;
- Investigate and punish the commission of genocide and incitement to genocide against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.
257. The Commission recommends that all Member States:
- Employ all means reasonably available to them to prevent the commission of genocide in the Gaza Strip;
- Cease the transfer of arms and other equipment or items, including jet fuel, to the State of Israel or third States where there is reason to suspect their use in military operations that have involved or could involve the commission of genocide;
- Ensure individuals and corporations in their territories and within their jurisdiction are not involved in the commission of genocide, aiding and assisting the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide and investigate and prosecute those who may be implicated in these crimes under international law;
- Facilitate the investigations and domestic proceedings and take action (including imposing sanctions) against the State of Israel and against individuals or corporations that are involved in or facilitating the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide;
- Cooperate with the investigation of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
258. The Commission recommends that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court:
- Examine, within its continuing investigation in the Situation in the State of Palestine, the crime of genocide for amendment to existing arrest warrants and addition to future application for arrest warrants;
- Examine the involvement of officials mentioned in this report for inclusion as those most responsible for international crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Read the press release:
Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission of Inquiry finds
16 September 2025
Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said in a new report today. The Commission urges Israel and all States to fulfil their legal obligations under international law to end the genocide and punish those responsible for it.
The Commission has been investigating the events on and since 7 October 2023 for the last two years, and concluded that Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, namely killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births.
Explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities and the pattern of conduct of the Israeli security forces indicate that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group.
“The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission. “It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.”
“The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza,” Pillay said. “The Commission also finds that Israel has failed to prevent and punish the commission of genocide, through failure to investigate genocidal acts and to prosecute alleged perpetrators.”
The report is based on all the Commission’s prior investigations, as well as factual and legal findings in relation to attacks in Gaza carried out by Israeli forces, and the conduct and statements of Israeli authorities from 7 October 2023 until 31 July 2025. The Commission’s findings are based on a comprehensive examination of the underlying acts of genocide (actus reus) and genocidal intent (dolus specialis).
In establishing the genocidal acts, the Commission examined the Israeli military operations in Gaza, including killing and seriously harming unprecedented numbers of Palestinians; imposing a total siege, including blocking humanitarian aid leading to starvation; systematically destroying the healthcare and education systems in Gaza; committing systematic acts of sexual and gender based violence; directly targeting children; carrying out systematic and widespread attacks on religious and cultural sites; and disregarding the orders of the International Court of Justice.
In establishing genocidal intent, the Commission applied the “only reasonable inference” standard set forth by the International Court of Justice in the case of Bosnia v. Serbia. The Commission analysed statements made by Israeli authorities and concluded that those statements are direct evidence of genocidal intent. The Commission also analysed the pattern of conduct of Israeli authorities and the Israeli security forces in Gaza, including imposing starvation and inhumane conditions of life for Palestinians in Gaza, and found that genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference that could be concluded from the nature of their operations.
“Israel has flagrantly disregarded the orders for provisional measures from the International Court of Justice and warnings from Member States, UN offices, human rights organisations and civil society groups, and continued the strategy of destruction of the Palestinians in Gaza,” said Pillay. “The Commission finds that the Israeli authorities had no intention to change their course of actions. On the contrary, Israeli authorities have persisted and continued with their genocidal campaign in Gaza for almost two years now. Israel must immediately end the genocide in Gaza and comply fully with the orders for provisional measures of the International Court of Justice,” she added.
The acts of Israeli political and military leaders are attributable to the State of Israel. The Commission therefore concluded that the State of Israel bears responsibility for the failure to prevent genocide, the commission of genocide and the failure to punish the perpetrators of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Commission also concluded that Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, have incited the commission of genocide and that Israeli authorities have failed to take action against them to punish this incitement. The Commission has not fully assessed statements by other Israeli political and military leaders and considers that they too should be assessed to determine whether they constitute incitement to commit genocide.
The Commission urges the Government of Israel to comply immediately with its international legal obligations, including to end the genocide in the Gaza Strip and fully implement the provisional measures orders of the International Court of Justice.
Israel must end its policy of starvation, lift the siege and facilitate and ensure the unimpeded access of humanitarian aid at scale and unhindered access of all United Nations staff, including UNRWA and OHCHR international staff, and all recognized international humanitarian agencies delivering and coordinating aid. The Commission calls on Israel to immediately end the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The Commission recommended that Member States cease the transfer of arms and other equipment that may be used for the commission of genocidal acts to Israel; ensure individuals and corporations in their territories and within their jurisdiction are not involved in aiding and assisting the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide; and take action on accountability through investigations and legal proceedings against individuals or corporations that are involved in the genocide directly or indirectly.
“The international community cannot stay silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza. When clear signs and evidence of genocide emerge, the absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity,” said Pillay. “Every day of inaction costs lives and erodes the credibility of the international community. All States are under a legal obligation to use all means that are reasonably available to them to stop the genocide in Gaza,” she added.
ENDS
