In a first, leading Israeli rights groups accuse Israel of Gaza genocide

By Aaron Boxerman

Two of the best-known Israeli human rights groups said Monday that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, adding fuel to a passionately fought international debate over whether the death and destruction there have crossed a moral red line.

The two groups were B’Tselem, a rights monitor that documents the effects of Israeli policies on Palestinians, and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. Their announcement was the first time major Israeli rights groups have publicly concluded that the war in Gaza is a genocide, an assessment previously reached by some organizations such as Amnesty International.

In a report titled “Our Genocide,” B’Tselem cited the devastating effects of Israel’s war on ordinary Palestinians to support their claim: the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza; the razing of huge areas of Palestinian cities; the forced displacement of nearly all of Gaza’s 2 million people; the restriction of food and other vital supplies.

All together, the Israeli campaign has amounted to “coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip,” the organization wrote. “In other words: Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

Israel rejected the accusations as “baseless.” David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesperson, said Israeli troops were targeting Palestinian militants, not civilians. If Israel truly intended to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, the country would not have facilitated nearly 2 million tons of aid to the territory, he said.

The debate over whether the war in Gaza constitutes genocide has also played out at the International Court of Justice, where South Africa has brought a genocide case against Israel. The court has yet to rule on the matter.

Speaking at the International Court of Justice in January 2024, Tal Becker, a member of Israel’s legal defense, said Israel was fighting Hamas, not targeting Palestinians wholesale.

“What Israel seeks by operating in Gaza is not to destroy a people, but to protect a people, its people, who are under attack on multiple fronts, and to do so in accordance with the law,” Becker told the court.

Genocide has a specific definition in international law: particular acts carried out with intent to destroy a group in whole or in part. The accusation hits a painful nerve for Israel, a state founded after Nazi Germany’s attempt to exterminate European Jewry.

Israel vigorously denies that its war against Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide, countering that Hamas seeks to destroy the Jewish state. Israeli officials have also pointed to the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, which prompted the devastating Israeli response.

The subsequent Israeli bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza have killed more than 59,000 people, including thousands of children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. That toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants; at one point, the Israeli military said nearly 20,000 Hamas fighters had been killed in the conflict, without providing evidence.

Yuli Novak, the director of B’Tselem, said she was not seeking to minimize the “horrific attack” that Hamas had perpetrated on Oct. 7. But the assault had prompted an Israeli assault on Palestinian life in Gaza that had spiraled into genocide, she said.

“The report we are publishing today is one we never imagined we would have to write,” Novak said at a news conference in Jerusalem. “But in recent months, we have been witnessing a reality that has left us no choice but to acknowledge the truth.”

As part of the case for genocide, international law requires that there be proof of intent. In the report Monday, B’Tselem cited a string of dehumanizing remarks by Israeli government officials, such as a statement by Yoav Gallant, a former defense minister, that Israel was fighting “human animals” in Gaza. Some Israeli politicians have also said that their goal is to drive the remaining Palestinians out of Gaza.

Israeli leaders argue that the country has adhered to humanitarian law, that generals work closely with legal advisers who ensure compliance with standards, and that Israel has gone above and beyond what other Western countries have done in similar situations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has at times distanced himself from the most extreme statements made by his political allies.

But for the vast majority of civilians in Gaza, the past 22 months have been a desperate attempt to survive constant Israeli bombardment, find enough food and clean water for their families, and flee amid Israeli warnings to immediately evacuate or risk being killed. The growing number of Palestinians in Gaza now starving has contributed to rising criticism of Israel by some of its longtime allies.

Israeli military officials often attributed the deadly impact of the war on Palestinians to Hamas’ strategy of fighting its insurgency by hiding among civilians. The Israeli rights groups said that alone could not explain the rampant death and destruction in Gaza.

“Israel’s claim that Hamas fighters or members of other armed Palestinian groups were present in medical or civilian facilities, frequently without providing any evidence, cannot justify or explain such widespread, systematic destruction,” B’Tselem wrote.