Genocide scholars: Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide

The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), the leading global body in the field of genocide studies, stated that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide as outlined in Article II of the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

According to the association’s report, since October 7, 2023, the cabinet of Israel has committed widespread and systematic crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, residential homes, commercial buildings, and other facilities, as well as torture and the deliberate deprivation of food and water.

The report—endorsed by 86% of the association’s 500 members—emphasized that the Israeli military has killed or injured more than 50,000 children, in addition to targeting aid workers, medical staff, and journalists in the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera reported that the association’s findings underline that Israel’s actions in response to the October 7, 2023 attack were not limited to Hamas, but instead targeted the entire population of Gaza.

The report stressed that the international community, under the Genocide Convention, bears responsibility to prevent genocide by fulfilling its legal obligations.

It further noted that Israel’s so-called “security measures” against members of Hamas are often used as a pretext for mass killings and acts of genocide.

The International Association of Genocide Scholars called on the Israeli cabinet to immediately cease all actions constituting genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza—including deliberate attacks on and killing of civilians, starvation, and obstruction of humanitarian aid, fuel, water, and other essentials needed for survival.

The association also referred to the two arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, urging Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice’s provisional orders, and called on member states of the International Criminal Court to enforce arrest warrants and surrender any individuals subject to them.