A UN-sponsored independent inquiry into Israel’s conduct in the Occupied Palestinian Territory reported Sept. 15 that Israel has committed the international crime of genocide amid its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
A 72-page legal analysis from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that Israeli forces have committed genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza, including killing or seriously harming members of the group, as well as inflicting conditions of life “calculated to bring about [Gazans’] physical destruction in whole or in part,” and preventing births among the population. To support its conclusions, the commission cited the figure of 60,199 Palestinians killed since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, the fact that life expectancy in Gaza has dropped precipitously from 75.5 to 40.5 years, and that 46% of Palestinians killed were women or children. The panel also noted direct attacks on maternity wards and Gaza’s largest IVF clinic.
Additionally, the commission concluded that Israeli officials have demonstrated incitement to genocide, specifically naming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former defense minister Yoav Gallant. The panel referenced Herzog’s comment that an “entire nation” was responsible for the October 7 attacks, Gallant’s comment that Israel was fighting “human animals” and must “act accordingly,” as well as Netanyahu’s comparison of Gazans to the Amalekites—a people who were singled out for destruction in the Hebrew Bible. Netanyahu and Gallant are facing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for using starvation as a method of war and crimes against humanity.
Navi Pillay, the Commission of Inquiry’s chair, said upon the report’s release:
The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza… The Commission also finds that Israel has failed to prevent and punish the commission of genocide, through failure to investigate genocidal acts and to prosecute alleged perpetrators.
Israel’s UN delegation in Geneva vehemently rejected the report as  “libelous rant” by a non-judicial body to “demonize the State of Israel.” The delegation claimed that the “cherry-picked” facts and “Hamas falsehoods” were chosen to support “the malicious ‘genocide’ narrative,” and that the commission ignored atrocities committed by Hamas. Israel’s delegation also called for the Commission’s disestablishment, saying, “The Commission has proven time and again that it is not an independent and impartial human rights mechanism, but a hotbed of activism engaged in lawfare against Israel.”
Under the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the ICC, genocide is committed when specific acts, such as killing members of a group, are undertaken with the intention of destroying a group in whole or in part. In order to establish that a genocide has occurred, international tribunals must conclude that the underlying acts took place and that they were committed with the intention of destroying a group.
Israel is a party to the Genocide Convention but not a party to the Rome Statute. The ICC still exercises jurisdiction over Gaza owing to the State of Palestine’s accession to the Rome Statute.
From JURIST, Sept. 16. Used with permission. Internal links added.
See our last reports on the ICC case against Israel, genocidal rhetoric from Israeli officials, strikes on Gaza’s hospitals, and genocide accusations against Israel.
Photo:Â Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons
UN General Assembly votes to support a two-state-solution
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted on Sept. 12 to endorse a declaration establishing a roadmap towards a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. The “New York Declaration,” first proposed in July, would include an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state.
Ten countries, including Israel and the United States, voted against the resolution, while 12 nations abstained. Sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, the declaration precedes what is set to be on the agenda for the 2025 UNGA General Debate.
The declaration comes at a time when several UN members have expressed their intention to formally recognize the Palestinian state, including France and several other EU Member States, which has been met with backlash from the US and Israeli diplomats.
The US Mission to the UN opposed the declaration, calling the General Assembly move “misguided and ill-timed,” and asserting that the resolution is “more of a gift to Hamas rather than an effort to end the conflict.” According to the statement, notions such as “the right to return,” referring to the potential return of Palestinian refugees displaced after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and their descendants, are detrimental to Israel as a Jewish state. (Jurist)
Partial suspension of EU-Israel trade agreement ​
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Israel’s actions during the annual State of the Union on Sept. 10, and announced a partial suspension of the Association Agreement. (Jurist)
UK, Canada and Australia formally recognize State of Palestine
The United Kingdom, Australia and Canada on Sept. 21Â recognized the State of Palestine in an effort to advance support for a two-state solution and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. (Jurist)
UN delegates call for Gaza ceasefire at General Assembly
United Nations delegates called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to alleviate Palestinian suffering on Sept. 29 before the UN General Assembly in New York City.
“We have heard from 189 member states, delegations’ thanks for proactive leadership, embracing diplomacy and not shying away from hard topics and proving why our UN remains critical especially at a crossroads,” Annalena Baerbock, president of the General Assembly, said to close the six-day conference. “When bombs fall on civilians, when famine is used as a weapon, when sovereignty is trampled by force, it is the credibility of this organization that is at stake.”
Delegates additionally called for a “surge” of humanitarian aid to the region, the immediate release of hostages, and the creation of a two-state solution framework.
Earlier this month, the UN Security Council proposed a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, which the US vetoed. The international body has also warned that Israel’s tactics in Gaza could have a devastating impact on disabled individuals and has repeatedly called out human rights violations in the region.
The call for ceasefire came hours after US President Donald Trump announced a peace plan for Israel and Hamas. “After sensitive consultation with our partners in the region, we are formally releasing our principles of peace, which people have really liked,” Trump said in a press conference Sept. 30 while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Specific details of the plan have not been released.
Trump told news outlets that Hamas has “three to four days” to respond to the plan and that there was not much room for negotiation or deviation from the proposed course. (Jurist, Sept. 30)
Amnesty International demands Gaza ceasefire
Amnesty International on Sept. 30Â called on armed Palestinian groups to immediately release all civilians still held hostage in the occupied Gaza Strip, nearly two years after the October 7 attacks, while also urging Israel to halt what it described as an ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
In its latest report, the rights group stressed that achieving a ceasefire is a global responsibility. Amnesty’s secretary general, Agnes Callamard, warned: “Every moment of inaction costs more lives and deepens the horrors civilians are facing. An immediate ceasefire is not just a moral imperative; it is a global responsibility.”
Amnesty further emphasized that Israel has intensified its “campaign of annihilation against Palestinians” in recent months through the deliberate destruction of infrastructure, mass displacement, and starvation. The organization cautioned that such actions endanger not only Palestinians but also Israeli hostages, who may be facing physical, sexual and psychological abuse in captivity. Just two weeks earlier, on Sept. 20, Hamas’ military wing published a “farewell photo” displaying the remaining hostages.
On Sept. 29, President Trump unveiled a new peace plan during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu endorsed the proposal but warned that if Hamas rejected it, Israel would “finish the job” on its own. Notably, the 20-point plan includes a framework for Palestinian statehood, as reported by several news outlets. Israel has repeatedly signaled that it would forcibly resist such an outcome. (Jurist)
Israel issues ‘final order’ for evacuation of Gaza City
With international attention focused on the peace plan and flotilla, the Israeli military issued a final order for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remaining in Gaza City to evacuate south as it continues to escalate its ground invasion and destruction of the enclave’s main metropolis. “The notion of a safe zone in the south is farcical,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters Oct. 3. (TNH)
Fighting erupts between Hamas and Palestinian clan in Gaza
The southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis has witnessed one of the fiercest internal confrontations since the war began, between a Hamas security force and gunmen from the al-Mujaida clan—one of the largest families in the south.
According to Hamas, its forces raided the neighborhood to detain individuals accused of collaborating with Israel.
Local accounts described an armed assault by about 50 men riding in five pickup trucks, armed with assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher, who stormed the al-Mujaida quarter and killed five members of the family. Armed relatives quickly fought back, sparking hours-long clashes with heavy gunfire. (BBC News)
Hamas has faced sporadic internal protest and even armed resistance within Gaza over the past months.
After two years, a peace deal for Gaza?
Early in the afternoon on Oct. 10, a ceasefire came into effect in the Gaza Strip, bringing hope–after more than two years–that Israel's brutal military campaign in the enclave may finally come to an end. Much about the agreement, what will happen next, and what exactly changed for US President Trump and Gulf Arab states to finally pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (who has walked away from numerous similar deals) and Hamas to accept its terms remains unclear. For now, the Israeli military has said it is withdrawing its troops to an agreed-upon line in Gaza, and Hamas will have 72 hours to release the remaining 48 hostages (including around 20 who are believed to be alive) it and other Palestinian militant groups have been holding since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks into Israel that precipitated the war. In return, Israel is to release some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Immediately after the ceasefire began, thousands of Palestinians began returning to northern Gaza after being recently displaced by an Israeli ground invasion that was underway to take over Gaza City. Over the past two years, at a minimum, over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed as a direct result of Israeli bombing and gunfire. Many thousands more have likely died from other dire effects of the war and siege, including an Israeli-induced famine. The enclave has been rendered all-but-unlivable by Israel's widespread destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure–from housing to hospitals to agricultural land. Reconstruction will need a massive, long-term effort. But the biggest question marks remain about what political authority will oversee that effort and what restrictions and conditions will be imposed by Israel–if the ceasefire holds.
Under the Trump plan, Gaza would initially be governed by a temporary transitional committee of Palestinian technocrats. A "Board of Peace," headed by Trump and including input from former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, would oversee the committee. Governance would later be transferred to the reformed Palestinian Authority. This recalls earlier Trump proposals for the US to "take over" the Gaza Strip.
A major disappointment for Palestinians is the apparent exclusion of prominent political leader Marwan Barghouti from the initial prisoner exchange. Israel's published list of prisoners did not include Barghouti, widely regarded as a potentially unifying figure. An Israeli official said that the deal "would not include the release of Nukhba [Hamas armed wing] terrorists who took part in the massacre on October 7."
Netanyahu said in a televised address that future stages of the plan would require Hamas to disarm and Gaza to be demilitarized. "If this is achieved the easy way—so be it. If not—it will be achieved the hard way," he stated. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed early Friday morning that Israeli Defense Forces had withdrawn from the "yellow line," allowing Israel to retain control of 53% of Gaza until phase two of the agreement begins. (TNH, Jurist)
Gaza ceasefire’s first uncertain week
The Gaza ceasefire is still holding—at least for now. Hamas released the 20 living Israeli hostages still in captivity, and Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners and detainees. Many of the Palestinians were taken by Israeli forces from Gaza during the war and held without charge in prisons and detention camps where rights groups have alleged widespread torture and abuse. The return of the bodies of around 28 deceased Israeli hostages is proving to be a stumbling block. Hamas has struggled to locate the bodies due to the widespread destruction in Gaza, and Israel is continuing to restrict aid and threatening to restart the war if the bodies are not returned.
The Israeli military has also not entirely ceased its fire in Gaza: At least 24 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the deal came into effect on Oct. 10, according to Hamas officials. Israel has delayed opening the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, and the amount of aid Israel is allowing to enter the enclave is significantly less than what is needed to address the widespread hunger—including famine in parts of Gaza—caused by Israel’s war. Hamas, whose security forces have re-emerged on Gaza’s streets, is also clashing with rival clans and gangs, leading to dozens of deaths. The question of whether Hamas will disarm and hand over political authority—and to what entity—remains a key unresolved issue. (TNH)
Two weeks into ceasefire, Gaza aid still enters at a trickle
Two weeks into a rocky ceasefire that was supposed to see aid surge into the Gaza Strip, humanitarian deliveries are still being held to a trickle by Israeli restrictions. The ceasefire deal that came into effect on Oct. 10 called for 600 aid trucks per day to be allowed to enter Gaza. However, Israel has only been allowing an average of 94 per day into the enclave, and Israeli authorities are continuing to ban the entry of many essential items—from cooking pots to medical supplies and material for shelters. Since the ceasefire began, 17 international organizations have seen their aid shipments blocked entirely at the border by Israeli authorities. Dozens of NGOs signed a joint letter decrying what they said was the arbitrary rejection of aid shipments and a restrictive new registration policy that is making it harder for humanitarian groups to operate.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion on Oct. 22 finding that Israel had violated international law by obstructing aid to Gaza over the past two years and ordered Israeli authorities to work with the UN to allow humanitarian supplies into the enclave. ICJ advisory opinions are non-binding, but they are considered the most authoritative interpretations of international law on a given topic and exert significant influence in the international system. While much attention is focused on whether the ceasefire will hold and what its next steps will bring, many humanitarian and human rights organizations are warning that future stability cannot be achieved without accountability for crimes that have been committed over the past two years. (TNH)