TEHRAN – The Israeli regime is committing genocide in the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to an independent commission established by the United Nations. 

It is the first time a UN body has announced that the occupying regime’s actions in Gaza have passed the threshold under international law to meet the criteria of genocide. 

It referenced instances of mass killings, blocked humanitarian aid, forced displacement, and the demolition of a fertility clinic to support its genocide determination, aligning with human rights organizations and others who have drawn the same conclusion. 

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (al-Quds) held the Israeli leadership accountable and called for an end to the blockade and the policy of starvation. 

In a report released on Tuesday, the Commission said it investigated events dating from October 7, 2023, as well as developments over the past two years. It concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces committed four out of the five genocidal acts defined in the 1948 Genocide Convention: 

• Killing Palestinians or forcing them to live in inhumane conditions that led to death
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm, including through torture, displacement, and sexual crime
• Deliberately imposing inhumane living conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births 

Failing just one of the five criteria, as listed in the Genocide Convention, passes the threshold of genocide. This inquiry found that the Israeli occupation regime has failed four. 

The report emphasized that statements from Israeli civilian and military leaders, along with patterns of conduct by security forces, demonstrate a clear intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, either in whole or in part. The Commission called on the Israeli regime and all states to fulfill their legal obligations under international law to end the genocide and prosecute those responsible. 

The 72-page legal analysis, the strongest UN finding to date, revealed that Israeli military personnel have carried out sexual and gender-based violence, including “rape and sexualized torture,” as part of “a pattern of collective punishment,” and accuses Israeli occupation forces of deliberately targeting children “with the intention to kill them.” 

Releasing the findings, Commission Chair Navi Pillay stated, “The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for committing genocide in Gaza. There is clear evidence of intent to destroy the Palestinian people through actions that meet the legal criteria under the Genocide Convention.” 

Pillay further asserted that the responsibility for these crimes lies with the Israeli authorities at the highest echelons, who have orchestrated a campaign of genocide for nearly two years, with the specific aim of destroying Palestinians as a group in Gaza. 

Within the report, it concludes that “Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have incited the commission of genocide.” 

Pillay also criticized the Israeli regime’s failure to prevent or punish acts of genocide, highlighting its unwillingness to investigate or prosecute the perpetrators. 

The Commission noted that its report is based on previous investigations and legal findings regarding Israeli attacks on Gaza, as well as the conduct and statements of authorities between October 7, 2023, and July 31, 2025. It conducted a thorough analysis of both genocidal acts (the criminal actions) and genocidal intent (the specific intent to destroy). 

The Commission says the majority of casualties are women, children, and elderly people, adding that it is now looking at further evidence against other individuals accused of inciting the Gaza genocide.