Israel-based rights groups accuse government of genocide in Gaza, urge global action

Two of Israel’s most respected human rights organisations, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), have issued reports accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, marking the strongest condemnation yet from within the country itself.

The groups assert that Israel’s military actions over the past two years have deliberately targeted Palestinians as a group, systematically dismantling the fabric of their society.

In reports released Monday, B’Tselem and PHR allege that the Israeli government has engaged in a deliberate campaign of destruction aimed at civilians, involving mass killings, forced displacement, starvation, and the annihilation of infrastructure essential to survival — including healthcare and education systems.

“What we see is a clear, intentional attack on civilians in order to destroy a group,” said Yuli Novak, Director of B’Tselem. “I think every human being has to ask himself: what do you do in the face of genocide?”

Novak stressed the need to recognise genocide as a social and political reality, even in the absence of a formal ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “Genocide is not just a legal crime. It’s a social and political phenomenon,” she said.

PHR’s report focuses specifically on the systematic collapse of Gaza’s health infrastructure, citing Article 2c of the UN Genocide Convention, which prohibits the infliction of conditions designed to destroy a group “in whole or part.” According to PHR director Guy Shalev, “You don’t have to have all five articles of the genocide convention to be fulfilled in order for something to be genocide.”

The reports point to statements from top Israeli leaders, including the prime minister and defense officials, as evidence of intent — a key element required to prove genocide under international law. Both organisations highlight how senior officials described all Gaza residents as legitimate targets, using dehumanising language and implying collective punishment for the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack.

“They talked about human animals. They talked about the fact that there are no civilians in Gaza or that there is an entire nation responsible for 7 October,” said Novak.

PHR further argued that the extensive, ongoing documentation of the war’s impact shows Israeli leadership could not claim ignorance. “There were enough times and enough opportunities for Israel to stop this gradual systematic attack,” said Shalev.

The destruction of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure has consequences beyond the battlefield. With no MRI machines functioning, untreated diseases, malnutrition, and a lack of diagnostics are expected to have lasting effects. “There is no easy way to replace medical workers who have been killed, including specialists who took decades to train,” Shalev noted.

According to official figures, the death toll in Gaza is nearing 60,000 — more than 2.5% of the prewar population. Critics of the genocide claim argue that the toll is too low, but Novak disagreed: “It doesn’t mean that you need to kill each and every person,” she said, explaining that genocide under international law also covers partial destruction of a group.

Both B’Tselem and PHR strongly criticised Israel’s western allies for enabling what they describe as a genocidal campaign. “It couldn’t happen without the support of the Western world,” said Novak. Shalev added, “Every tool in the toolbox should be used. This is not what we think; this is what the genocide convention calls for.”

The groups also raised alarms about a potential spillover of genocidal policies from Gaza to the West Bank, where nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 40,000 displaced since the October 2023 Hamas attacks. “What we worry about and want to warn about is the fact that any small trigger might make the genocide spill over from Gaza into the West Bank,” Novak said.

In closing, the reports stress that the current campaign in Gaza could set a precedent for future actions elsewhere. “The Israeli regime now has a new tool that they didn’t use before – genocide,” said Novak. “The fact that this tool… is not yet [deployed] in other areas is not something that we can count on for long.”