International investigation reveals high-ranking Israeli officials instigated acts of genocide in Gaza region
In a shocking development, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry has concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. The commission's 72-page legal analysis is the strongest U.N. finding to date, but it is important to note that the body operates independently and does not officially speak for the United Nations.
The commission's evidence includes interviews with victims, witnesses, doctors, verified open-source documents, and satellite imagery analysis compiled since the conflict began. The commission's work involves fact-finding through interviews, document analysis, and satellite imagery review to assess human rights violations and potential crimes such as genocide allegations against Israel.
The U.N. commission found that Israel had committed four of the five acts necessary for genocide: 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.
The commission's report cites examples of killings, aid blockages, forced displacement, and the destruction of a fertility clinic to back up its genocide finding. Navi Pillay, head of the U.N. commission, compared the situation in Gaza to the Rwanda genocide where over 1 million people were killed in 1994. She stated that Israel is dehumanizing the Palestinian population.
The commission also concluded that statements by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli officials are "direct evidence of genocidal intent". A letter by Netanyahu to Israeli soldiers in November 2023 comparing the Gaza operation to a "holy war of total annihilation" in the Hebrew Bible was also cited in the report.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the report's findings, stating that they misinterpreted his words and whitewashed Hamas's atrocities. Israel's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Daniel Meron, called the report "scandalous" and "fake", claiming it was authored by "Hamas proxies". Neither Netanyahu nor former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, who is also named in the report, responded to requests for comment.
The U.N. has not yet used the term 'genocide' but is under increasing pressure to do so. A global hunger monitor reports that part of Gaza is suffering from famine. The deadly 7 October, 2023, Hamas attack resulted in 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 64,000 people, according to Gaza health officials. The responsibility for these atrocity crimes, according to the report, lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons. Navi Pillay, head of the U.N. commission, expressed hope that U.N. rights chief Volker Turk and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would read the report and "be guided by the facts".
Israel is currently fighting a genocide case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a moral outrage and a legal emergency, according to Navi Pillay.
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