A United Nations human rights expert has accused Israel of committing 'acts of genocide' in Gaza, presenting a report to UN member states in Geneva on Tuesday. Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, concluded that 'there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide against Palestinians as a group in Gaza has been met'.
Israel swiftly dismissed the findings, with its ambassador describing the report as 'an outrageous distortion of the Genocide Convention'. The report, titled 'Anatomy of a Genocide', cites three elements pointing to possible genocide: causing serious bodily or mental harm to Palestinians, deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction, and imposing measures to prevent births. Albanese pointed to the death toll in Gaza, now over 32,000 according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, the bombing of densely populated areas, and restrictions on aid supplies as evidence of intent.
Albanese also condemned the crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October, and called for the release of hostages. However, her criticism of Israel's conduct in the war has drawn ire from Israeli officials, who view the UN Human Rights Council's permanent agenda item on Palestine as discriminatory. Israel refuses to attend the council when this item is under discussion.
Palestinian human rights groups welcomed the report. Basel Alsourani of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights argued that genocide is such a serious crime that the international community cannot ignore it. Tala Nasir, a Palestinian human rights lawyer, highlighted the detention of over 7,700 Palestinians since 7 October, with 80% held under administrative detention without charges.
