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UNHRC Commission of Inquiry on Gaza genocide

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Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Presented16 September 2025
LocationGeneva, Switzerland, United Nations Human Rights Council's 60th session;
Also available online
AuthorIndependent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory
PurposeDetermine whether actions committed by Israel between 7 October 2023 and 31 July 2025 in the Gaza Strip constitute failure to prevent or committing of genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention[1]

On 16 September 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Council released a report that has been characterized as the strongest and most authoritative UN determination to date on the Gaza war, concluding that Israel is failing to prevent and is actively committing genocide against Palestinians.[2][3] The Commission found Israel guilty of four out of five acts specified in Article 2 of the 1948 Genocide Convention against Palestinians (murder, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy the group, and imposing measures to prevent births) and found statements by senior Israeli officials alongside other evidence sufficient to establish genocidal intent. The report called for genocide charges to be added to the ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.[1]

The report's official title is Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The report, spanning 72 pages long, resulted from a two-year investigation, examining evidence between 7 October 2023 and 31 July 2025 limited to the Gaza Strip.[4][1] The report was released in the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.[1]

Actus reus

Article 2 of the Genocide Convention defines genocide as:

... any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

— Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article 2[5]

The Commission concluded Israel engaged in acts (a), (b), (c), and (d). This established actus reus of genocide, meaning that given proof of mens rea (genocidal intent), legal grounds for genocide are established.[1]

Mens rea

To establish mens rea (genocidal intent), the Commission most prominently focused on proof of direct and public incitement to commit genocide by examining statements by senior Israeli officials.[3][6] Statements cited include:

  • Former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant claiming Israel was fighting "human animals" and must "act accordingly," later saying "Gaza won't return to what it was before... We will eliminate everything."[1]
  • President Isaac Herzog stating "it's an entire nation out there that is responsible. It is not true, this rhetoric about civilians who were not aware and not involved."[1]
  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoking (against Palestinians) Amalek, a set of biblical passages where "God tells the Israelites, 'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and women, child and infant...'"[1]

The Commission claimed that even if the statements made were the only pieces of evidence considered in the genocide case, these statements are alone sufficient to establish that Israel is liable under the convention because direct and public incitement to commit genocide is punishable under Article 3(c) of the Genocide Convention, even in the absence of other actions (such as genocide or complicity in genocide).[1]

Additional cited evidence establishing genocidal intent included other statements by lower Israeli politicians, Amnesty International's report of a photograph of a slogan on an Israeli military watchtower with the words "Destroy Gaza," and the failure of Israeli officials to investigate or punish IDF soldiers who celebrated demolishing Palestinian civilian properties in Gaza.[1] The Commission further determined from the pattern of conduct of Israeli forces that genocidal intent is the only reasonable inference from the totality of evidence.[3][6]

Timeline of cited evidence

The Commission categorized evidence into one of the four relevant acts under Article 2 of the Genocide Convention in order to establish actus reus:

Killings[1]
Serious bodily or mental harm[1]
Conditions of life calculated to bring about destruction of the group[1]
Preventing births[1]

Recommendations

The Commission made a number of suggestions to ameliorate the genocide:

Recommendations to the Government of Israel[1]
  • End the commission of genocide and cooperate with the ICJ provisional measures against Israel
  • Implement a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and end all military operations that involve genocidal acts
  • Restore humanitarian aid access
  • Ensure medical evacuations of Gazans to other countries
  • Allow the UNHRC access to Israel to continue investigations
  • Investigate and punish commission of and incitement to genocide
Recommendations to UN Member States[1]
  • Employ all means available to prevent genocide
  • Cease transfer of arms and other equipment or items which might be used militarily
  • Prosecute individuals and corporations who aid genocide
  • Cooperate with ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders
Recommendations to the International Criminal Court[1]
  • That the ICC amend its arrest warrants for Israeli leaders to include the crime of genocide
  • That the ICC examine adding Israeli officials mentioned in the report not already in the arrest warrant to the warrant

Reactions by countries

See also: List of state positions on the Gaza genocide

Brazil

Brazil neither supports nor opposes the Commission's conclusion in any official capacity. In a press release, Brazil referenced the report, saying "human rights violations in Gaza... must be investigated," but did not explicitly affirm support for the Commission's genocide allegation. However, Brazil voiced support for some of the report's recommendations such as a permanent ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian aid access.[7]

Israel

Israel opposes the Commission's conclusion. In a UN press release, Israel called the report a "libelous rant," calling for the report's "termination," and making various ad hominem attacks throughout the article against the Commission.[8] In one instance, Israel attacked members of the Commission for resigning after releasing the report,[8] even though the team claimed their resignations had "absolutely nothing to do with any external event or pressure."[9][10] Israel declined to cooperate with recommendations made to the Israeli government in the report.[11]

Israel's press release included a number of claims that have been implied to be unsubstantiated[8][11] or misleading,[10][11] including:

  • Claiming the report is a "non-UN document", which is misleading, as the report was commissioned and recognized by an official body of the UN[10]
  • Claiming without evidence the report was an attempt to "demonize the State of Israel" and that the Commission is partisan against Israel[8]
  • Claiming without evidence the report "grossly diverges from the scope of its mandate"[8]
  • Claiming without evidence the report "relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods"[8]
  • Claiming the Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) "refuted every false allegation of genocide".[8] There is a consensus among scholars that Israel is committing genocide.[12] None of the authors of the BESA report are genocide experts. Genocide researcher Iva Vukusic says the report does not negate the "overwhelming" evidence of genocide. Alex de Waal argues the report "contains many inaccurate claims" about the Gaza Strip famine.[13]
  • Claiming without evidence groups accusing Israel of genocide are "plagued by systemic and serious methodological flaws"[8]
  • Claiming without evidence the report relies on "cherry-picked data... misleading statistics... weak data... and manipulated and unverified sources"[8]
  • Claiming a quote in the report said Israel is "focused on what causes maximum damage" instead of the longer quote "maximum damage to Hamas military capabilities," implying the first quote was truncated by the Commission in order to lie by omission; this is misleading because the first quote cited in the report was complete and referenced a public statement which did not have the "Hamas military capabilities" clarification,[14] which was only added in a later follow-up statement after significant backlash[15]
  • Claiming Israel is committed to international law and "minimizing harm to the civilian population," which is misleading because there is consensus among experts[12] that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a violation of international law causing significant harm to the civilian population

Norway

Norway neither supports nor opposes the Commission's conclusion in any official capacity. On 16 September 2025, Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide released a statement stating "we take the findings of the report very seriously," pledging to investigate its findings and recommendations and "follow up on them in our further policy development."[16]

Palestine

Palestine supports the Commission's conclusion. The Palestine Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an official statement calling on the international community to act to prevent genocide "without delay" and on states to take "practical and decisive measures to stop the ongoing genocide, provide international protection for the Palestinian people, end all forms of military and political support to Israel... and impose sanctions on it." The ministry suggested "international silence" on the issue "places the international community in a position of complicity."[17]

South Africa

South Africa supports the Commission's conclusion. South Africa urged all states to comply with its recommendations. President Cyril Ramaphosa referenced the report's finding of genocide in the general debate of the eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly.[18][19]

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom neither supports nor opposes the Commission's conclusion in any official capacity. The Parliament of the United Kingdom debated the report shortly after its release to discuss implications on UK international policy related to the Gaza war and Gaza humanitarian crisis.[20]

Supporters argued it is not the role of governments to determine whether a genocide is happening, but of a competent court such as the Commission. Supporters also argued that regardless of whether a genocide is happening, saying "to argue about precise definitions of genocide somehow misses the central point" and argued the humanitarian crisis is at the fault of Israel and needs immediate policy attention. Baroness Chapman of Darlington said of the report, "you cannot read it without being horrified."[20]

Opponents downplayed the strength of the document's claims, including Lord Pannick, who claimed the Commission found there were "reasonable grounds for alleging genocide in Gaza, not that there is genocide in Gaza." This was a mischaracterization of an actual quote that said "the Commission has concluded on reasonable grounds [there is genocidal intent]," which did not imply they did not actually find there is a genocide.[a] Other opponents, such as Lord Austin of Dudley, who accepted money from pro-Israel lobbies,[21] changed the topic to discuss media attention, alleging pro-Palestinian bias in media and claiming media attention to the "humanitarian position in Gaza... drives antisemitism in Britain."[20]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Full quote: The Commission has concluded on reasonable grounds that Israeli political and military leaders possess the specific intent to commit genocide.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (PDF). OHCHR (Conference room paper). A/HRC/60/CRP.3. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (Human Rights Council). 16 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  2. ^ Nicholls, Catherine (2025-09-16). "UN commission says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza". CNN. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  3. ^ a b c "Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, UN commission of inquiry says". BBC News. 2025-09-16. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  4. ^ "Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds". OHCHR. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 16 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  5. ^ "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide". OHCHR. 9 December 1948. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds". OHCHR. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  7. ^ "Ofensiva terrestre israelense contra a Cidade de Gaza, Estado da Palestina" [Israeli ground offensive against Gaza City, State of Palestine]. Ministério das Relações Exteriores (Itamaraty) (in Portuguese). Government of Brazil. 16 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Israel categorically rejects the libelous rant published today by the Commission of Inquiry". Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN & International Organizations, Geneva. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel). 16 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  9. ^ Keaten, Jamey (15 July 2025). "UN-backed team focusing on human rights in Palestinian areas announces resignations". AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Keaten, Jamey (16 September 2025). "UN commission of inquiry accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza and urges global action". AP News. The Associated Press. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Farge, Emma (16 September 2025). "UN inquiry finds top Israeli officials incited genocide in Gaza". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 September 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  12. ^ a b Sources that explicitly mention or directly imply an expert consensus recognizing genocide in Gaza:
    • Journal of Genocide Research: Sultany 2024, pp. 1–26: "Despite Israel’s indignation over the charge, and its invocation of the Holocaust to neutralize the accusation against it, there is an increasing legal consensus that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Different actors have acknowledged that Israel’s actions violate elements of the Genocide Convention and stressed the need to prevent genocide. Continued contestation notwithstanding, this consensus is emerging because the evidence is overwhelming. This emerging consensus strengthens the legal case against Israel."
    • Journal of Genocide Research: Shaw 2025b, pp. 1–15: "Indeed, the evidence of genocide accumulated so quickly in late 2023 that South Africa was soon preparing a historic case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, which it submitted on 28 December. The genocidal logic was so inescapable that weeks later, the Court delivered the first of three provisional measures rulings containing instructions to Israel, which recognized a "plausible risk" of prejudice to the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention. By the end of 2024, when Amnesty International published a comprehensively evidenced and legally argued case, the consensus that Israel was committing genocide was becoming overwhelming."
    • The Guardian (News): "Israel committing genocide in Gaza, world's top scholars on the crime say". The Guardian. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. The world's leading genocide scholars' association has backed a resolution stating that Israel's actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of the crime.
    • The Washington Post (Analysis/Column): Tharoor 2025: "In May, the Dutch newspaper NRC surveyed seven prominent genocide scholars who unanimously concurred that genocide in Gaza was taking place."
    • Reuters (News): van den Berg 2025: "Eighty-six percent of those who voted among the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars backed the resolution declaring Israel's 'policies and actions in Gaza' had met the legal definition set out in Article II of the 1948 UN convention on genocide."
    • PBS NewsHour (News): "Leading genocide scholars' organization says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza". PBS NewsHour. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide said Monday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
    • Middle East Eye (Report on Dutch investigation): "Top genocide scholars unanimous that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza: Dutch investigation". Middle East Eye. 17 May 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. The paper interviewed seven renowned genocide and Holocaust researchers from six countries - including Israel - all of whom described the Israeli campaign in Gaza as genocidal. Many said their peers in the field share this assessment.
    • NRC summary (UWA repository clipping to original NRC piece): "Seven renowned scientists almost unanimous: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza". UWA Profiles and Research Repository. 14 May 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. NRC spoke to seven renowned genocide researchers about Gaza. They are not nearly as divided as public opinion: without exception, they qualify the Israeli actions as 'genocidal'. And according to them, almost all their colleagues agree with that.
    • Arab Center Washington DC (Policy Analysis): Asi, Yara M. (19 August 2025). "The Growing Consensus over Israel's Genocide in Gaza". Arab Center Washington DC. Retrieved 11 October 2025.: "...a growing consensus among experts and human rights organizations holds that genocide in Gaza is not a risk but a reality."
    • Democracy Now! (Interview): ""I'm a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It": Prof. Omer Bartov on the Growing Consensus on Gaza". Democracy Now!. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. [Interviewer:] Professor Bartov, can you talk about the genocide scholars across the world who have come to the same conclusion?... [Bartov:] ...over time, many genocide scholars who are — and legal experts, experts in international law, who, like me, have been very cautious about applying this term [genocide], have gradually come to the conclusion that what we're watching is genocide. And that's important, in the sense that there is now, I think, a growing consensus over that view.
    • Center for International Policy (Policy Journal): "Growing Consensus on Israel's Atrocities in Gaza". Center for International Policy. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025. [There is a] Growing Consensus on Israel's Atrocities in Gaza... Prominent Israel experts identifying a genocide in Gaza include Omer Bartov, Daniel Blatman, Amos Goldberg, Lee Mordechai, and Raz Segal, with Shmuel Lederman calling it the "consensus" view among genocide researchers.
  13. ^ Walters, Derk (25 September 2025). "Het 'selectieve' Israëlische rapport dat twijfel zaait over de genocide in Gaza" [The 'selective' Israeli report that casts doubt on the genocide in Gaza]. NRC (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 25 September 2025.
  14. ^ ""Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged": Israel's Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza". Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  15. ^ "IDF Press Release – Clarification". IDF. Israel Defense Forces. 25 December 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  16. ^ "Statement from Foreign Minister Eide on report on Gaza". Government.no. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Norway). 16 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  17. ^ "Official Statement: Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Welcomes Report of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Genocide in Gaza" (PDF). General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (State of Palestine). 16 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  18. ^ "Statement by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the occasion of the General Debate of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly". Department of International Relations and Cooperation (South Africa). 23 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  19. ^ "Statement by His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa during the High-Level International Conference on the Two-State Solution (UN General Assembly)". The Presidency (South Africa). 21 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  20. ^ a b c "Gaza: UN Commission of Inquiry Report". Hansard. UK Parliament. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  21. ^ "Dudley College stands by Zionist board member Ian Austin". 5Pillars UK. 5Pillars. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
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