Two Israeli human rights advocacy groups accused the government in separate reports on Monday of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The conclusions from B’Tselem, a human rights monitoring organization focusing on the effects of Israeli policies on Palestinians, and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel mark the first time major domestic groups have accused the Israeli government and military of meeting the legal definition of genocide.
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Israel’s 20-monthlong bombing and ground campaign in Gaza, which followed Hamas‘s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that included the killing of roughly 1,200 people and the kidnapping of approximately 250 others, has decimated the strip, with civilian populations facing risks of famine and starvation due to a lack of humanitarian aid allowed into the besieged enclave.
The death toll from Israel’s military operation is believed to exceed 55,000 people, though that tally does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israeli officials have said the ratio of civilians to combatants killed is roughly 1-to-1.
“Israel’s decision to continue this assault despite countless warnings and ample evidence of its deadly consequences, combined with repeated public clarifications by Israeli policymakers that the target is the entire population of Gaza, demonstrate the intent of Israel’s political and military leadership to irreversibly destroy Palestinian life in the Gaza Strip,” B’Teselm’s report said in the conclusion section.
Israeli officials have rebuked claims that the country is carrying out a genocide, including in response to the reports, even as more radical members of the government discuss the possibility of pushing all Palestinians out of Gaza, which could meet the definition of ethnic cleansing.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in May 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three senior Hamas leaders. However, all three Hamas leaders were killed in the conflict.
Netanyahu and Gallant were accused of bearing “criminal responsibility” for the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, willfully causing great suffering, willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, and extermination.
South Africa has also brought a genocide case against Israel to the International Court of Justice, which has not yet ruled on the matter.
The Physicians for Human Rights – Israel accused the country of violating Article II (a), (b), and (c) of the Genocide Convention, which covers the killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and the deliberate inflection of conditions designed to bring about the physical destruction of the targeted national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
“The destruction of life-sustaining systems, the cumulative patterns of destruction, the bodily and mental trauma inflicted, and the direct killing of civilians, when understood in light of the implemented policy and the public rhetoric, make clear that Israel’s campaign in Gaza constitutes genocide under international law,” the humanitarian group’s report said.
Other non-Israeli-based human rights organizations have also levied accusations of genocide.
Concern for Palestinian civilians, and their inability to access clean water, food, and medicine, has gone on for many months. However, it appears to have reached new heights in recent weeks as Palestinians have been hurt or killed trying to reach the limited aid allowed into Gaza.
Israel announced over the weekend it would begin “tactical pauses” in the conflict to allow aid to enter the country, though Netanyahu said the accusation that Israel is “applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza” is a “bald-faced lie.”
President Donald Trump, who has supported Israel’s military operations across the region, disagreed with Netanyahu’s assessment on Monday.
“Based on television, I would say not particularly,” Trump said after being asked whether he agrees with Netanyahu that there is no starvation in Gaza, “because those children look very hungry.”
“We can save a lot of people. That’s real starvation. I see it, and you can’t fake that,” Trump added.
He announced that the United States will set up “food centers” in partnership “with some very good people,” but did not elaborate on specific details.
TRUMP DISPUTES NETANYAHU’S DISMISSAL OF STARVATION IN GAZA
The Israelis barred aid from entering Gaza for a couple of months earlier this year to apply even more pressure on Hamas, which has been accused of trying to confiscate aid for its benefit.
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund, which is currently administering aid in Gaza, has been criticized for a series of chaotic and sometimes fatal scenes that have played out near the warehouses where it distributes aid.