Amnesty International Accuses Israel of Genocide in Gaza
Amnesty International has released a damning report accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza during its recent offensive, Al Jazeera reports.
The report, titled “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman”: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, alleges that Israeli military actions meet the legal threshold for genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
The findings, released Thursday, are based on months of research, including witness testimonies, analysis of visual and digital evidence (including satellite imagery), and statements by senior Israeli officials. Amnesty claims Israel has committed at least three acts prohibited by the convention: indiscriminate killings of civilians, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza.
Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, stated that Israel’s actions, considered within the context of existing dispossession, apartheid, and unlawful military occupation, point to a clear intent for the physical destruction of the Palestinian population in Gaza.
Israel vehemently rejected the report, calling it “entirely false.” The Israeli government and military maintain that their actions are lawful targeting of Hamas fighters located amongst civilians and constitute self-defense following the October 7th attacks. They further claim that criticism of their actions is anti-Semitic.
Amnesty counters that this argument fails to account for the scale and nature of the civilian casualties. The organization found no evidence that the diversion of humanitarian aid by armed groups justifies Israel’s extreme restrictions on aid to the civilian population.
The report highlights over 100 statements by Israeli military and government officials that dehumanized Palestinians or justified acts of violence against them. Twenty-two of these statements, made by senior officials involved in managing the Gaza offensive, allegedly called for or justified genocidal acts, providing direct evidence of genocidal intent, according to Amnesty.
Callamard also criticized the international community for its “seismic, shameful failure” in Gaza, citing a delay in calling for a ceasefire and continued arms supplies to Israel as contributing factors.
