A United Nations Commission of Inquiry has declared that the Israeli government is carrying out a genocide in Gaza and aims to establish permanent control over the territory while ensuring a Jewish majority in the occupied West Bank, according to a landmark report that represents the most authoritative UN finding on the conflict to date .
The report, released by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, concludes that Israel's actions are intended to destroy the Palestinian population in Gaza. The commission found that four genocidal acts have been committed: systematic killings, causing serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction, and imposing measures intended to prevent births . The commission's head, Navi Pillay, stated that the evidence indicates these acts were committed with the "specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza" .
Systematic Destruction and Permanent Control
The report details how Israeli authorities have extensively and systematically demolished civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, hospitals, and agricultural land, to expand military control, which reached 75% of the Gaza Strip by July 2025 . This destruction has substantially reduced the territory available for Palestinians, creating a situation where they cannot return to their homes . The commission found that these actions, combined with the imposition of a near-total siege that has weaponized the withholding of food, water, and medicine, have deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza . The UN Human Rights Office has condemned this "wanton destruction," noting it appears focused on causing a permanent demographic shift, a finding tantamount to ethnic cleansing .
Annexation Agenda in the West Bank
Beyond Gaza, the report outlines a clear intent to annex the entire West Bank. Israeli policies, including the explicit and implicit support for violent settlers and the rapid expansion of illegal settlements, demonstrate a plan to forcibly transfer Palestinians, ensure a Jewish majority, and prevent any possibility of Palestinian self-determination and statehood . The report specifically cites a plan announced by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to annex 82% of the occupied West Bank and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's own statements that "there will be no Palestinian State" .
Reactions
The commission emphasized that all states have a legal obligation to prevent and punish genocide, calling on the international community to employ all reasonable means to stop the atrocities, including ceasing arms transfers to Israel . Israel has categorically rejected the report, with its foreign ministry calling it "distorted and false" and alleging the commission has a political agenda . The United States has also condemned the findings, with the State Department calling them "the height of hypocrisy" . The report will be presented to the UN General Assembly in October 2025.