By Nicole Meilak

Copyright maltatoday

A United Nations commission of inquiry has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, marking one of the most serious international condemnations since the war with Hamas began in October 2023.

In its newly released report, the commission said there were “reasonable grounds to conclude” that four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been carried out.

These include killing members of a group, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting living conditions intended to destroy the group, and preventing births.

The report cited statements made by Israeli leaders as well as patterns of conduct by Israeli forces as evidence of genocidal intent.

Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the findings, describing them as “distorted and false”. A spokesperson accused the commission’s three experts of acting as “Hamas proxies” and said the report relied “entirely on Hamas falsehoods” that had already been “thoroughly debunked”.

“In stark contrast to the lies in the report, Hamas is the party that attempted genocide in Israel—murdering 1,200 people, raping women, burning families alive, and openly declaring its goal of killing every Jew.”

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 64,905 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since then.

The UN and aid agencies say Gaza’s civilian population has been devastated: more than 90% of homes are damaged or destroyed, healthcare and sanitation systems have collapsed, and UN-backed experts recently declared a famine in Gaza City.