Do Israel's military actions in Gaza since October 7th, 2023 constitute a genocide?

This is a highly contested question involving ongoing legal proceedings, so I'll present the range of expert and institutional positions rather than offering my own verdict. Let me find current information on this.This is one of the most contested legal and political questions of our time, with no single definitive, universally accepted answer. Different bodies and experts have reached different conclusions. Here's a summary of the major positions:

Bodies/Experts Concluding It Is Genocide

UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (September 2025): This three-member panel, chaired by former UN human rights chief and ICTR judge Navi Pillay, concluded after a two-year investigation that there are reasonable grounds that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The commission found Israel had committed four of the five "genocidal acts" defined under the Genocide Convention—killing members of a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, imposing measures to prevent births, and deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction—with only forcible transfer of children not being met. Pillay stated: "The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza. It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention." The commission also found that Netanyahu, as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, had incited the commission of genocide.

International Association of Genocide Scholars: In 2025, the largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide, with around 500 members including Holocaust experts, said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, with a resolution stating Israel's policies and actions meet the legal definition of genocide, supported by 86% of those who voted. However, critics note only about 120 members actually supported the measure, with most abstaining.

Other academic voices: There is a growing body of opinion among genocide and Holocaust scholars, international legal experts, human rights organizations, and some governments that Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide, though this is contested. Scholar Martin Shaw described the genocidal consequences of Israel's massive bombardment of Gaza as "represent[ing] a strategic choice" rather than a tactical mishap.

International Court of Justice (ongoing case): South Africa filed a case alleging genocide, and in January 2024 the ICJ found Palestinians in Gaza "appear to constitute" a protected group and issued provisional measures, though it has not yet ruled on the merits of whether genocide has occurred. ICJ judges are still weighing the genocide accusations, brought by South Africa. In October 2025, the ICJ delivered a related advisory opinion reaffirming Israel's binding obligations as the Occupying Power under international law, finding the Palestinian population in Gaza is "inadequately supplied" and that Israel is violating its obligations to facilitate humanitarian aid—but this did not resolve the genocide question itself.

Positions Rejecting the Genocide Characterization

Israel's government: Israel has consistently and firmly rejected the charge. At the ICJ, Israeli lawyers argued "There is no genocidal intent here; this is no genocide," stating Hamas atrocities "do not justify violations of the law in reply – still less genocide – but they do justify...the exercise of the legitimate and inherent right of a State to defend itself". Israel's foreign ministry called the allegations "disgust[ing]," stating it operates according to international law and focuses its military actions solely against Hamas, asserting the residents of Gaza are not the enemy. Following the UN Commission's 2025 report, Israel called the accusations "scandalous," and its ambassador in Geneva called the finding a "libellous rant", attributing authorship to "Hamas proxies" (per earlier search).

Skeptical scholars: Some genocide experts disagree. UCLA's Dov Waxman said that while the death toll in Gaza is "unacceptably high," he does not believe the Israeli military is deliberately targeting civilians, and warned that using the term prematurely risks a "boy who cried wolf" situation. International law professor Stefan Talmon of the University of Bonn has also argued there is no genocide (per Euronews). Journalist Dan Perry argued more broadly: "The situation is bad, but genocide it is not."

Germany's government stated in 2024 that it "expressly rejects" allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The Core Legal Difficulty

Experts broadly agree the central challenge is proving intent. As genocide scholar Ernesto Verdeja explained, "One has to prove that the perpetrator not only committed the actions, but they committed the actions with a very specific intention of destroying the group." Many scholars who doubt the genocide label nonetheless agree serious crimes have occurred—TIME noted scholars it spoke to said it is much more likely that both Hamas and some Israeli officials could be found guilty of crimes against humanity, particularly extermination, which "does not require proof of a perpetrator's conscious desire to destroy a group 'as such'".

Bottom Line

There is no single authoritative verdict yet. The UN's own Commission of Inquiry and a majority-voting genocide scholars' association have concluded genocide is occurring, as have a growing number of states and rights organizations. Israel, some Western governments (like Germany), and a number of individual scholars reject this characterization, arguing the conduct constitutes self-defense against Hamas and, at most, war crimes or crimes against humanity rather than genocide specifically. The definitive legal determination rests with the ICJ, whose genocide case (brought by South Africa) remains ongoing, and potentially the ICC, which has already issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity (though not genocide).

Given the gravity and contested nature of this question, I'd encourage you to review the primary sources directly—particularly the UN Commission of Inquiry report and Israel's ICJ submissions—to form your own assessment.