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According to a United Nations investigation, Israel carried out “genocidal acts” in Gaza by methodically demolishing reproductive healthcare facilities, such as the primary IVF clinic and maternity wards in the area.
The UN Commission of Inquiry reported on Thursday that Israeli forces deliberately targeted Gaza’s primary fertility centre while also imposing a blockade that restricted access to essential reproductive healthcare and maternal medicines.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the findings as “false and absurd,” rejecting the report’s conclusions.
However, the UN commission maintained that Israeli authorities had “destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group,” fulfilling two specific categories of genocidal acts as defined under the UN Genocide Convention. These include “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction” and “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”
The commission, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate violations of international law in Israel and the Palestinian territories, has not yet made a conclusive finding of genocide.
Commission member Chris Sidoti clarified that the report focused on actions taken but had not yet determined whether these actions were carried out with genocidal intent.
He suggested that a more comprehensive conclusion on genocide could emerge later this year.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem welcomed the report, saying it confirmed what was happening on the ground and called for the swift prosecution of Israeli leaders at the International Criminal Court.
Netanyahu, in response, branded the UN Human Rights Council an “anti-Israeli circus” and accused it of making “absurd claims” against Israel.
The Israeli mission in Geneva further condemned the report, claiming it was driven by a “prejudiced political agenda” aimed at discrediting the Israel Defence Forces.
Sidoti countered these criticisms, accusing Israel of obstructing the investigation by denying access to the occupied territories.
“They do not read our documents. They have an agenda devoid of any relationship to fact. It’s chronic lying,” he said.
The report specifically highlighted the destruction of Gaza’s Al-Basma IVF Centre, which was shelled in December 2023, resulting in the loss of approximately 4,000 embryos.
The commission concluded that the deliberate targeting of the facility was a direct attempt to prevent Palestinian births, classifying it as a genocidal act.
Beyond the destruction of reproductive healthcare facilities, the commission found that pregnant, lactating, and new mothers in Gaza had suffered unprecedented harm, with lasting effects on fertility and population growth.
The report asserted that the Israeli military had deliberately targeted women and girls, accusing it of crimes against humanity, including “wilful killing” and “extermination.”
Sidoti indicated that the next phase of accountability would likely involve legal action, as international courts and individual nations could take steps to prosecute those responsible.
“If they waited for action by the Security Council, they’d be waiting until hell froze over,” he remarked.
