A UN commission has (in what many consider a “too little, too late effort” found Israel guilty of genocide against Israel. While this report isn’t a legal verdict from a court, its weight is immense. The commission reported the sheer scale of death and destruction: 64,964 people killed and over 90% of homes damaged in Gaza, saying that it has become too impossible to ignore.
What makes this report important is that it doesn’t just list the terrible things that have happened. It goes a crucial step further by arguing that these acts were done with a specific, chilling intent to destroy a group. Furthermore, it’s an expert opinion that connects the dots between the devastation on the ground and the hateful, dehumanizing language of Israeli leaders.
The commission points to specific statements, like former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calling Palestinians “human animals” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising to turn a “wicked city” into “rubble.”
The report also found that Israel has committed four of the five acts that define genocide, including a pattern of conduct that involves killing, causing serious harm, and deliberately creating conditions that would bring about the destruction of the Palestinian people. The terrible irony is that the war was a response to Hamas’s deadly attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people, but the commission argues that the response itself has become a crime of an entirely different nature.
Why It Matters
The UN’s finding is a loud, clear signal that the international community has an obligation to act now.
First and foremost, countries that are currently providing military and financial support to Israel need to take a hard look at their policies. As the report warns, continuing to arm a state accused of genocide could be viewed as complicity. This means governments and corporations must re-evaluate their relationships and halt any transfers of weapons or equipment that could be used to commit these acts.
Additionally, the international community must demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and use every tool at its disposal to ensure that aid, water, and fuel are able to reach the entire population.
