Israeli human rights organizations have issued scathing reports accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
B’Tselem, a prominent Israeli-Palestinian human rights group, released a report titled "Our Genocide," asserting that Israel’s coordinated actions in Gaza aim to destroy Palestinian society intentionally.
The report documents the deaths of at least 59,733 people and injuries to 144,477 since October 7, 2023, attributing these to Israel’s military campaign.
It argues that Israel’s policies, coupled with statements from senior officials, reveal a clear intent to annihilate Palestinian life in Gaza.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel echoed this, detailing the systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system as a calculated policy, not a byproduct of war.
The report highlights attacks on medical facilities, restrictions on aid, and the detention and killing of healthcare workers, framing these as genocidal acts.
B’Tselem’s report traces Israel’s actions back to 1948, accusing the state of pursuing settler-colonial policies like displacement, ethnic cleansing, and military rule to cement supremacy over Palestinians.
Since October 2023, these efforts have intensified, with 100,000 people displaced from northern Gaza by November 2024, described as ethnic cleansing by experts.
The report also notes escalating violence in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, unprecedented since Israel’s 1967 occupation, signaling a broader pattern of oppression.
Israel’s actions are supported by a majority of Israelis, with 64 percent favoring temporary occupation of Gaza, per a Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs survey.
This societal backing, alongside a legal system that normalizes these violations, underscores a culture of impunity, the reports argue.
The reports mark a milestone in accountability efforts, with B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel facing potential backlash in a society where only 16 percent of Jewish Israelis see peaceful coexistence with Palestinians as possible, according to a Pew Research Center poll.
Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu’s recent statement on radio, “All of Gaza will be Jewish,” exemplifies the inflammatory rhetoric fueling these accusations.
The findings align with South Africa’s 2023 International Court of Justice case against Israel, now joined by countries like Brazil and Spain, accusing Israel of genocide.
“I welcome this news even though it comes very late into the genocide,” said Elia Ayoub, a writer and researcher, reflecting on the reports’ significance.
The reports’ release coincides with a UN conference on Palestine, amplifying calls for global action to end Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and unlawful occupation.