A United Nations investigation has concluded Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, marking the strongest and most authoritative UN finding on the war to date. Stephanie Tran reports.
In a report released Tuesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, said Israeli authorities and security forces had carried out four of genocidal acts defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention: killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy Palestinians, and imposing measures intended to prevent births.
Navi Pillay, the Commission’s chair, said,
The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,
“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.”
Mass killings, deliberate starvation, attacks on children
The report documents extensive evidence of systematic killings, deliberate starvation, denial of healthcare, sexual and gender-based violence, and the direct targeting of children. As of July 15, the Commission verified at least 58,380 deaths in Gaza, of whom 46% were women and children. Only 8,900 were identified as militants, meaning 83% of those killed were civilians.
However, the true number of civilian casualties is likely significantly higher. Independent researchers Richard Hill and Gideon Polya estimate that when accounting for indirect deaths from hunger, disease and the collapse of Gaza’s health system, the toll may already exceed 680,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023. Their analysis suggests that official figures capture only a fraction of the death toll, with many deaths unrecorded due to the near-total destruction of civil infrastructure
Investigators also cited the attack on Gaza’s largest fertility clinic, which destroyed around 4,000 embryos and 1,000 sperm and egg samples, as evidence of measures intended to prevent births. An expert testified that “children who were meant to be born from these 5,000 reproductive specimens will never exist. Families will be forever changed, and bloodlines may end because of a loss of these reproductive tissues”
The Commission found that Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant incited genocide.
Their acts, it said, are attributable to the State of Israel itself.
Genocidal intent “the only reasonable inference”
In determining intent, the Commission applied the standard used by the International Court of Justice in the Bosnia v Serbia case, that genocidal intent is the “only reasonable inference” from the facts.
The report concluded that genocidal intent was “the only reasonable inference” from Israel’s conduct, pointing to the military’s use of heavy munitions in densely populated areas, the systematic destruction of cultural and religious sites, and repeated defiance of International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings ordering provisional measures.
“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,” Pillay said. “On the contrary, Israeli authorities have persisted and continued with their genocidal campaign in Gaza for almost two years now.”
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Legal duty for all states
The report emphasised that the crime of genocide triggers universal and immediate obligations.
Under international law, all states have a duty to use all means available to them to prevent and punish genocide.
“All States are under a legal obligation to use all means that are reasonably available to them to stop the genocide in Gaza,” the Commission said.
When clear signs and evidence of genocide emerge, the absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity.
The Commission recommended that member states immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel, investigate individuals and corporations complicit in genocidal acts, and consider sanctions against both Israeli officials and private actors.
Implications for Australia
The Commission’s findings carry significant implications for Australia, which is both a signatory to the Genocide Convention and a longstanding ally of Israel. Under international law, Canberra has an immediate duty to prevent and punish genocide, and risks accusations of complicity if it continues policies that enable Israel’s military campaign.
Australia is deeply enmeshed in Israel’s defence industry. Companies such as Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, key suppliers to the Israeli military, operate subsidiaries and joint ventures in Australia, providing technology, drones and weapons systems.
The Commission’s call for states to halt arms transfers and prevent corporate involvement in genocidal acts underscores the urgent need to ensure that Australian companies, superannuation funds and government contracts are not complicit in Israel’s genocide.
The findings heighten pressure on the Albanese government to align its foreign policy with international law. While the government has expressed “concern” over civilian casualties and urged humanitarian access, it has not moved to halt defence contracts with Israeli-linked firms or review military exports.
“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. States are under a legal obligation to use all means that are reasonably available to them to stop the genocide in Gaza.”
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