Amnesty International: Israel Committing Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza

Doha – London-based human rights organization Amnesty International has concluded that Israel’s campaign against Palestinians in occupied Gaza constitutes genocide, according to a landmark report published today.

The report, titled “‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza,” is the result of months of in-depth analysis of incidents and official statements during the ongoing 14-month war.

“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”

The report examined Israel’s actions in Gaza between October 7, 2023 and early July 2024, finding that Israeli airstrikes killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, including over 13,300 children, and injured 97,000 more, often in deliberate attacks on civilians that wiped out entire families.

Amnesty investigated 15 airstrikes that killed at least 334 civilians, including 141 children, finding no evidence they targeted military objectives.

Israel also imposed conditions calculated to physically destroy Palestinians in Gaza by damaging critical infrastructure, repeatedly displacing almost the entire population through “evacuation” orders, and obstructing humanitarian aid deliveries.

This exacerbated catastrophic levels of hunger and disease, especially harming children and pregnant women. Nearly 1.9 million Palestinians – 90% of Gaza’s population – have been forcibly displaced, many up to 10 times.

Amnesty reviewed 102 statements by Israeli officials that dehumanized Palestinians and called for genocidal acts against them. Of these, 22 statements by senior leaders appeared to provide direct evidence of genocidal intent. This language was echoed by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on the ground.

The report urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to add genocide to the list of crimes it is investigating regarding the situation. It comes two weeks after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel vehemently denied the genocide allegations, claiming it acted lawfully in self-defense after Hamas and other armed groups attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages. Since the start of Israel’s genocidal retaliatory campaign, over 44,500 Palestinians have been killed.

“The deplorable organisation Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report based on lies,” said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein. Even Amnesty’s Israel branch rejected the genocide conclusion.

However, Amnesty HQ said the evidence clearly showed Israel’s intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group, alongside any expressed military goals. It called for strong international action and justice for victims.

“The international community’s shameful failure to press Israel to end its atrocities in Gaza is a stain on our collective conscience,” Callamard added in the report. “Governments must stop pretending they are powerless to end this genocide.”