The United Nations (UN) investigative body has officially determined that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide.
Navi Pillay, who leads the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, shared the commission’s findings during an interview with Al Jazeera on September 16.
“We’ve identified the president, Isaac Herzog, the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former minister of defence, Yoav Gallant, based on their statements and the orders that they’ve given,” Pillay said in an interview.
She stated that, under international law, actions carried out by high-ranking officials implicate the state itself.
“Because these three individuals were agents of the state, under the law, the state is held responsible. So, we say it’s the state of Israel that has committed genocide,” she added.
UN Report on Gaza
In the report, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, concluded that Israel bears responsibility for committing four of the five acts defined as genocide under international law.
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“The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, chair of the Commission and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“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.”
At a press conference in Geneva, Pillay and other panel members laid out findings from a months-long investigation into the war in Gaza that began after Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023.
According to the Commission, Israeli authorities and security forces engaged in systematic actions that include mass killings, serious bodily and mental harm, starvation, and conditions aimed at preventing births acts that, taken together, demonstrate genocidal intent.
The panel, whose members are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but operate independently, placed blame at the highest levels of the Israeli government, pointing to “explicit statements” by Israeli civilian and military leaders that denigrated Palestinians.
“Genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference that could be concluded from the nature of their operations,” the report stated.
Siege and Starvation
The report cited the Israeli military’s siege of Gaza, its blockade of humanitarian aid, and the destruction of essential infrastructure including hospitals, schools, and sanitation systems.
According to the UN’s humanitarian office, nearly one million people remain trapped in Gaza City, where famine has been declared and daily bombardments continue.
The Commission accused Israeli forces of “deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians,” and noted “systematic” patterns of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as attacks on children.
Ignoring International Court Orders
The report criticized Israel’s failure to comply with orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in March 2024, which directed the country to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
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Pillay warned that silence from the international community in the face of mounting evidence of genocide “amounts to complicity.”
“All states are under a legal obligation to use all means that are reasonably available to them to stop the genocide in Gaza,” she said.
Diplomatic Fallout Over Qatar Strike
The UN Human Rights Council also convened an emergency session to address an Israeli strike last week in Doha, Qatar, which targeted senior Hamas officials.
The strike, which reportedly killed six people, including five members of Hamas, drew condemnation from the UN Security Council and Secretary-General António Guterres, who called it a “flagrant violation” of Qatari sovereignty.
UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo warned that the incident threatened to destabilize regional diplomacy and could derail ongoing efforts to mediate an end to the war and secure the release of hostages.
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