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A recent comprehensive juridical assessment from an independent commission of inquiry has delivered the most definitive determinations to date regarding events in the region.

The panel accuses Israeli authorities of perpetrating acts of genocide, stating that its campaign was waged “with the purpose to destroy, in whole or in part, a racial or community”.

Investigation Origins

Formed four years ago by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the commission is staffed by three unaffiliated specialists and cannot speak on behalf of the UN as a whole.

Israeli representatives have rejected the report “outrageous” and “fake”, asserting it was produced by “Hamas proxies”.

Israeli authorities has refuted the allegations, referencing its entitlement to defend itself following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which claimed the lives of 1,200 people, primarily non-combatants, and led to 251 captives.

The subsequent war in Gaza has taken the lives of more than 64,000 people, overwhelmingly ordinary residents, and injured a further 160,000.

Key Conclusions

To be considered an act of genocide under the 1948 UN genocide convention, at least one of five acts must have been committed. The commission accuses Israel of committing four.

Supporting material comprises interviews with affected persons, witnesses, and healthcare workers, verified publicly available records, news reporting, NGO analyses, and aerial photography.

First Charge: Mass Killing

The panel references reporting indicating that by mid-July 2025, nearly half of Palestinians killed in the strip were females and minors.

Security personnel utilized imprecise explosive weapons with a wide margin of error in highly crowded areas… The volume of explosives employed since the initial incident is exceptionally high relative to other global conflicts.

Palestinians in the territory were struck in their homes, at medical facilities, in refuges (including classrooms and religious sites), during evacuations and in designated safe zones.

The commission also highlighted specific incidents such as the fatal targeting of young victims when their family car was struck near a fuel stop in the urban center.

Additional Finding: Harm Infliction

This involves the abuse of prisoners and mass displacement which has caused grave and permanent physical and mental harm.

Further Finding: Systematic Deprivation

The document observes that large parts of Gaza has been left largely unlivable, with extensive destruction of bakeries, educational facilities, cultural sites, and religious buildings.

Considering the proof in full, investigators has determined that Israeli authorities had knowledge of the high probability that their actions… would cause the physical destruction of Palestinians… in whole or in part.

Category Four: Imposing Measures to Prevent Births

This section examines the large percentage of child casualties and the destruction on a reproductive health facility in late 2023, which reportedly ruined thousands of fertility samples.

Genocidal Intent

Juridical authorities often note that proving genocidal intent is challenging due to the high standard of proof.

The panel concluded that comments by high-ranking figures are “clear proof of intent to commit genocide”.

Cited examples include comparisons to biblical wars and official statements that indicate an aim to eliminate the local community.

The head of the commission, an ex- judge who had oversight over an international court for a prior genocide case, remarked that the evidence supports the determination of destructive purpose.