UN Probe Finds Israeli Forces Committed Genocide in Gaza

Gazan children standing in the rubble of their demolished home in Rafah.

On September 16, the Israeli military launched a ground offensive in Gaza City, accompanied by intensified bombardment of residential areas and a surge in civilian displacement. At the same time, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, issued a report finding Israel responsible for committing genocide in Gaza, citing deliberate efforts to destroy Palestinian life carried out with near-total impunity.

“The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza,” said Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission. “The Commission also finds that Israel has failed to prevent and punish the crime of genocide, through failure to investigate genocidal acts and prosecute alleged perpetrators.”

The Commission stated that Israeli forces repeatedly ignored orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as well as warnings from UN Member States, human rights groups, and civil society organizations. Israeli officials dismissed the findings, accusing the Commission of bias and refusing to cooperate.

In response, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told journalists: “While Israel defends its people and seeks the return of hostages, this morally bankrupt Commission obsesses over blaming the Jewish state, whitewashing Hamas’s atrocities, and turning victims of one of the worst massacres of modern times into the accused.”

The Commission described its report as the “strongest and most authoritative UN finding to date,” while clarifying that it operates independently from the UN and does not speak on its behalf. The UN itself does not currently classify Israel’s actions as genocide, though pressure has mounted from within its agencies. In August, over 500 staff from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) urged UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk to explicitly recognise the situation as genocide.

The report further documents widespread destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and agricultural land, as well as systematic deprivation of food, water, and humanitarian aid. Between October 2023 and July 2025, approximately 53,000 Palestinians were killed as a direct result of Israeli military operations. The Commission found repeated targeting of civilians, including children, journalists, humanitarian workers, and medical staff.

Humanitarian experts warn that continued bombardment will cause catastrophic loss of life and erase the last prospects of survival for civilians in Gaza. Aid agencies, including Oxfam, CARE, and Médecins Sans Frontières, urged UN member states to act urgently to prevent further atrocities.

Pillay concluded: “Every day of inaction costs lives and erodes the credibility of the international community. All States are under a legal obligation to use all means reasonably available to stop the genocide in Gaza.”