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A recent comprehensive legal analysis from an independent commission of inquiry has presented the most conclusive determinations to date regarding the situation in the coastal enclave.

The investigative team accuses Israeli authorities of carrying out acts of genocide, stating that its military offensive was undertaken “with intent to eradicate, completely or partially, a national or religious group”.

Investigation Origins

Formed in 2021 by the international human rights body, the panel is made up of three independent experts and does not speak on behalf of the broader UN system.

Israel’s delegation have dismissed the report “scandalous” and “false”, claiming it was authored by “Hamas proxies”.

Israel has refuted the accusations of genocide, referencing its right to self-defence following the assault on 7 October 2023, which claimed the lives of over a thousand individuals, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages.

The ongoing conflict in Gaza has killed over 64,000 individuals, mostly civilians, and wounded over 160,000 people.

Report Findings

To be considered an act of genocide under the UN treaty against genocide, a minimum of one of five types of action must have been committed. The inquiry asserts the Israeli military of performing multiple.

Documentation includes testimonies with survivors, bystanders, and healthcare workers, authenticated publicly available records, journalistic accounts, civil society assessments, and aerial photography.

Category One: Killing

The panel references reporting indicating that up until 15 July 2025, nearly half of fatalities in the region were non-combatant vulnerable groups.

The military employed area-effect bombs with a wide margin of error in highly crowded areas… The quantity of munitions deployed after the initial incident is extraordinary even in comparison to other worldwide hostilities.

Civilians in the territory were struck in their homes, at clinics, in refuges (including schools and holy buildings), during relocations and in designated safe zones.

The panel also detailed notable cases such as the fatal targeting of multiple minors when their automobile was targeted near a gas station in Gaza City.

Additional Finding: Harm Infliction

This involves the mistreatment of prisoners and large-scale relocations which has caused serious and lasting physical and mental harm.

Category Three: Deliberate Infliction of Destructive Conditions

The document observes that a significant portion of the strip has been left virtually uninhabitable, with widespread destruction of essential services, learning centers, heritage locations, and holy sites.

Taking into account the evidence in full, investigators has concluded that officials knew of the strong likelihood that their campaign… would result in the eradication of the population… completely or partially.

Category Four: Imposing Measures to Prevent Births

This part focuses on the significant number of child casualties and the destruction on a reproductive health facility in December 2023, which according to accounts destroyed thousands of reproductive materials.

Purposeful Action

Legal scholars frequently emphasize that establishing extermination aims is difficult due to the high standard of evidence.

The commission found that comments by government officials are “clear proof of genocidal intent”.

Referenced instances include references to biblical conflicts and policy announcements that suggest an intent to eliminate the local community.

The chair of the panel, a previous jurist who had oversight over a legal body for a prior genocide case, remarked that the findings upholds the finding of genocidal intent.