Experts commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council say Israeli forces are «continuing to commit» genocide in Gaza. Israel calls the report Hamas lies.
An independent panel of experts commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council has concluded «on reasonable grounds that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have committed and are continuing to commit» acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
In its report published Tuesday, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel — which was established by the HRC in 2021 — said it had collected and analyzed evidence in relation to alleged human rights violations committed by all parties in the Israel-Hamas war, which Israel launched in response to the Hamas-orchestrated Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack.
«Today, we witness in real time how the promise of ‘never again’ is broken and tested in the eyes of the world. The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a moral outrage and a legal emergency», Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission, said at a Tuesday news briefing. «There is no need to wait for the International Court of Justice to declare it a genocide. All states are obligated to use whatever means within its (their) power to prevent the commission of genocide. And so we urge member states to ensure accountability for any crimes that have been committed and prevent further crimes from being committed, not just in Gaza, but the entire occupied Palestinian territory.»
Israeli’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the report «fake.»
«The report relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others», Saar said, echoing the language used in past Israeli government statements responding to accusations it is committing genocide. «In stark contrast to the lies in the report, Hamas is the party that attempted genocide in Israel — murdering 1,200 people, raping women, burning families alive, and openly declaring its goal of killing every Jew.
