Palestinians demonstrate at a “Stand For Gaza Vigil” outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank on Saturday. Protesters were demanding an end to the “slaughter, hunger, oppression of Palestinians in Gaza.” Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
Israel is committing genocide in Gaza due to both military action and creating “catastrophic conditions” that increase the huge death toll, including the destruction of its health care system, two Israeli human rights groups said Monday.
B’Tselem said serious harm to the entire population, large-scale destruction of infrastructure and living conditions, destruction of the social fabric, abuse of detainees held without trial, forced mass displacement, including attempts at ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza, and undermining efforts of the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency were “unequivocal” proof.
“An examination of Israel’s policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack, leads to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip. In other words: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians,” the group said in a report.
“It is a clear and explicit attempt to destroy Palestinian society in Gaza and create catastrophic living conditions that prevent the continued existence of this society in Gaza. That is precisely the definition of genocide.”
It warned that with no mechanism, domestically or internationally, to check it, it could easily spread to the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and inside Israel, where the government and same forces were “abandoning Palestinians to escalating violence, forcible displacement, collective punishment, and denial of their human rights solely because they are Palestinian.”
B’Tselem said widespread dehumanization of Palestinians, seen by Israelis as a threat and as a problem to be “solved,” had led to genocide with the immense trauma of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, a trigger exploited by an extreme-right government to advance the agenda of prominent ministers.
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories’ report calls on the Israeli public and the international community to take a stand against the genocide in Gaza and prevent it from spreading.
“Now is the time to raise our voices and resist. Now is the time to use every means available under international law to save whoever and whatever we can, and to put an end to the continued suffering of millions of people,” the report titled “Our Genocide” said.
Separately, Physicians for Human Rights issued a report detailing what it said was a “deliberate, cumulative, and ongoing dismantling of Gaza’s healthcare system and of the population’s ability to survive” that clearly amounted to genocide.
The group traced the start of the “unprecedented” assault of Gaza’s healthcare system to an Oct. 13, 2023, evacuation order by the Israeli military to 22 hospitals in Gaza City and northern Gaza.
The report accused Israel of “systematically” attacking medical infrastructure, targeting all but three of Gaza’s 36 hospitals and clinics, depriving them of fuel and water, and killing or detaining more than 1,800 medical staff.
“Israel’s bombing of hospitals, destruction of medical equipment, and depletion of medications have made medical care — both immediate and long-term — virtually impossible. The system has collapsed under the weight of relentless attacks and blockade,” it said.
The reports said malnutrition was killing dozens of people daily with 85 children dying of starvation so far and 92% of infants aged six months to two years malnourished.
Nine in 10 Gazans had been displaced by Israel, which had destroyed or damaged 92% of homes and left over half a million children without schools or stability.
“It has wiped out essential health services — including dialysis, maternal care, cancer treatment, and diabetes management,” the report added.
Physicians for Human Rights said it wanted governments and international bodies to insist Israel halt military operations, even if unilaterally, protect and rebuild Gaza’s health infrastructure and restore U.N., international and Palestinian support systems, including unrestricted entry and distribution of aid.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague is currently in the midst of adjudicating a case brought by South Africa in January 2024, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, but a judgment is not expected before the end of 2027 at the earliest.
