Investigating the legal definition of genocide and international assessments of the Gaza conflict — gathering court filings, UN reports, and expert views.
Whether Israel's military actions in Gaza since October 7, 2023 constitute genocide is contested and has not been finally decided by an international court. Determination depends on the legal definition of genocide and proof of specific intent.
1. Legal Definition
Under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, genocide is defined as any of five acts "committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group".
The five acts are:
> intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical \[sic\], racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in
Other prohibited acts include preventing births and forcibly transferring children.
A key legal hurdle is proving dolus specialis — specific intent to destroy the group as such. The ICJ’s high bar requires that genocide be the "only reasonable inference".
2. Context
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry notes it has investigated events on and since 7 October 2023.
Casualty figures are disputed and evolving. Gaza’s Ministry of Health figures are frequently cited, e.g. 67,075 killed by 3 October 2025, though counts do not separate combatants from civilians.
3. Findings and Arguments That Actions Constitute Genocide
a) International Court of Justice (ICJ) - South Africa v. Israel:
On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a case alleging Israel is violating the Genocide Convention.
On 26 January 2024, the ICJ issued provisional measures. The court:
•Found the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide was plausible
•Said it was "plausible" that Israel's assault violated the Genocide Convention, but stopped short of mandating a ceasefire
•Ordered Israel to refrain from committing acts within the scope of the Genocide Convention; prevent and punish incitement to genocide; and take immediate and effective measures to ensure provision of urgently needed basic services
The case on the merits - whether genocide has actually occurred - is ongoing and may take years. The January 2024 order was not a final determination.
b) UN Investigative Bodies and Experts:
•On 16 September 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. It concluded Israeli authorities committed four of the five genocidal acts: killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about destruction, and imposing measures intended to prevent births.
•The Commission said explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities and the pattern of conduct indicate the acts were committed with intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group, and that "there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria".
•It applied the "only reasonable inference" standard and concluded genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference from the nature of operations, and that responsibility lies with authorities at the highest echelons who orchestrated a genocidal campaign.
•The Commission is independent and was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, and does not officially represent the UN as a whole.
•UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in her March 2024 report "Anatomy of a Genocide" argued Israel's conduct meets thresholds for genocide, and in later 2025 reports reiterated that Israel is responsible for genocide.
c) Human Rights Organizations:
•Amnesty International released a 296-page report on December 5, 2024 titled "'You Feel Like You Are Subhuman': Israel's Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza". It concluded Israel's actions since October 7, 2023 meet the legal threshold for genocide and found Israel had carried out three prohibited acts: killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction.
•The report assessed violations between 7 October 2023 and early July 2024 and concluded there is sufficient evidence to believe conduct amounts to genocide.
d) Scholarly Association:
•The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) passed a resolution on August 31 stating that Israel's policies and actions in Gaza align with the legal definition of genocide as outlined in the 1948 Convention.
•Reporting notes only 28 percent of the association's members cast a ballot, with 108 supporting the measure, and that the resolution has faced internal and external dispute over substance and procedural legitimacy.
4. Findings and Arguments That Actions Do Not Constitute Genocide
The Israeli government and some other states reject the characterization:
•Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called allegations of genocide "the biggest lie of the century" and "the biggest lie of the century" in a speech to the UN General Assembly.
•President Isaac Herzog described claims as "atrocious and preposterous" while stating Israel's actions were in self-defense against Hamas.
•Israel's legal team at the ICJ rejected South Africa's accusation as "grossly distorted" and an attempt to pervert the meaning of the term, emphasizing the war was fought in self-defense targeting Hamas rather than the Palestinian population and that leadership did not harbor genocidal intent.
•The Foreign Ministry said a UN report was "distorted and false" and "rely entirely on Hamas propaganda", and argued Hamas was the group attempting genocide citing the October 2023 attack. An IDF spokesperson added: "No other country has ever operated under such conditions and done so much to prevent harm to civilians".
•Other governments have taken similar positions. A German government spokesperson said Germany "expressly rejects" allegations that Israel is committing genocide. The UK Government stated that its position is that Israel is not breaching the Genocide Convention.
•Critics of the genocide label argue it distorts international law and trivializes genuine cases of genocide, and that the term refers to systematic destructionand that Israel's defensive operations bear no resemblance to this definition.
Scholars who dispute the genocide finding often point to:
•The difficulty of proving specific intent, as opposed to intent to defeat Hamas militarily
•The presence of civilian casualty mitigation measures cited by Israel
•Disagreement over whether statements by individual officials reflect state policy and intent
5. Current Status
There is no final binding judicial determination that Israel has committed genocide. The ICJ has found the claim plausible enough to order provisional measures, but has not ruled on the merits. The UN Commission of Inquiry, Amnesty International, and IAGS have concluded genocide has occurred, while Israel, and some states, strongly deny that and argue the campaign is a lawful war of self-defense against Hamas.
Any definitive legal conclusion under the Genocide Convention would require a final judgment by a competent court, such as the ICJ for state responsibility or the International Criminal Court for individual criminal responsibility.