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B’Tselem Executive Director Yuli Novak and members of the Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI), two leading Israeli human rights groups have accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, citing the systematic annihilation of Palestinian society and the deliberate destruction of the territory’s healthcare system.
B’Tselem in its most recent report said an investigation of Israeli policies and its outcomes, alongside statements by senior officials, leads to “the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip.”
Novak said: “This is a deeply painful moment for us…But as Israelis and Palestinians who live here and witness the reality every day, we have a duty to speak the truth as clearly as possible: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.”
PHRI also published a legal-medical analysis concluding that Israel’s ongoing military attacks in Gaza “meets the criteria for genocide” under the UN Genocide Convention.
It warned that these were a deliberate policy aimed at harming Palestinians as a group.
“The evidence shows a deliberate and systematic dismantling of Gaza’s healthcare system,” said PHRI Director Dr. Guy Shalev.
“This is not incidental damage from war – it is a deliberate policy. As medical professionals, we are obligated to speak the truth: this is genocide, and we must fight it.”
The reports chronicle extensive killing of hapless civilians, mass displacement of families and people, weaponisation of starvation, and the demolition of vital infrastructure, warning that forms of mass murder seen in Gaza are also being repeated in the occupied West Bank on a smaller scale.
The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that 14 more Palestinians, including two children, died in the past 24 hours from hunger and malnourishment caused by Israel’s blockade of water, medical aid and food. This raised the total number of starvation-related deaths since Oct. 7, 2023, to 147, with 88 being children.
Over 40,000 Palestinian infants are currently at the risk of death due to Israel’s continued blockade of baby formula.
The two Israeli organisations harshly disparaged the international community, adding that Western governments are complicit through either active support of Israel or silence in the face of incontrovertible evidence of war crimes.
Novak added: “Any leader that is not doing whatever they can to stop it is part of this horror.”
It also rejected international calls for a truce after the Israeli army pursued a brutal reprisal on Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attacks. Israeli forces have, killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The persistent bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food insecurity.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in November, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its attacks in the territory.
