Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, UN commission of inquiry says

A United Nations commission of inquiry says Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

A new report says there are reasonable grounds to conclude that four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been carried out since the start of the war with Hamas in 2023: killing members of a group, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group, and preventing births.

The Commission’s investigation covers the period from October 7, 2023, through July 31, 2025. During this time, at least 60,199 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, including 18,430 children and 9,735 women.

The inquiry notes that many of these deaths resulted from the deliberate targeting of civilian homes, schools, hospitals, and shelters.

“Victims were not targeted as isolated individuals,” the report stated. “They were targeted collectively due to their identity as Palestinians.” 

“By July 2025, at least 1,373 Palestinians had been killed while seeking food, including children shot in the chest at aid distribution points,” it reads.

The Commission concluded that Israel weaponized food and humanitarian assistance, deliberately creating famine conditions. As of September 2025, at least 422 Palestinians , 145 of them children,  had died of starvation and malnutrition.

“Israel carried out nearly 500 attacks on Gaza’s healthcare facilities between October 2023 and July 2024, killing at least 747 people in hospitals.”

It documented the killing of at least 1,400 healthcare workers and more than 170 journalists by mid-2025.

It cites statements by Israeli leaders, and the pattern of conduct by Israeli forces, as evidence of genocidal intent.

According to BBC, Israel's foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the report, denouncing it as "distorted and false".