Amnesty International accused Israel Thursday of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, marking the rights group’s first such determination during an ongoing conflict.
The London-based organization said it analyzed months of incidents and Israeli officials’ statements, concluding that Israel violated at least three acts banned by the 1948 Genocide Convention: killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about a protected group’s physical destruction.
“There is a genocide being committed. There is no doubt, not one doubt in our mind after six months of in-depth, focused research,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard told journalists in The Hague. “The assertion that Israel’s war in Gaza aims solely to dismantle Hamas and not to physically destroy Palestinians as a national and ethnic group simply does not stand up to scrutiny.”
Israel has consistently rejected genocide accusations, maintaining it respects international law while defending itself following Hamas’ October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports more than 44,400 Palestinians killed in Israel’s subsequent military campaign.
The report comes as Israel faces genocide allegations at the International Court of Justice brought by South Africa. Israeli lawyers denied the charges there, arguing no genocidal intent exists in their stated objective of eliminating Hamas.
Amnesty urged the International Criminal Court prosecutor to investigate the genocide allegations. The ICC prosecutor’s office said it continues investigating alleged crimes in Palestinian territories but declined further comment.
