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

This is one of the most legally and politically contested questions of the current era, and there is no single authoritative answer—but there has been a major shift in the formal record over the past year. Here's where things stand:

Bodies that have found genocide occurred

The UN Commission of Inquiry (September 2025): The most significant formal finding came from the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Its report concluded that Israel is failing to prevent and is actively committing genocide against Palestinians, finding Israel guilty of four out of five acts specified in Article 2 of the 1948 Genocide Convention—murder, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy the group, and imposing measures to prevent births—and found statements by senior Israeli officials sufficient to establish genocidal intent. Commission chair Navi Pillay stated "the responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza." The Commission said a genocide determination could be made even if only one of the five criteria are met, and found four have been met—only forcible transfer of children was not established.

The International Court of Justice (ongoing case): South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel in December 2023, and the ICJ has issued three orders of provisional measures (January, March, and May 2024). The Court found that at least some of the rights invoked by South Africa—of Palestinians in Gaza not to be subjected to acts of genocide under the Genocide Convention—are plausible. Importantly, this is a preliminary finding of plausibility, not a final merits ruling—for cases of such complexity, the ICJ will often take years to reach a final judgement, and that merits ruling has not yet occurred.

Other voices: A UN Special Rapporteur similarly described the ongoing genocide in Gaza as a collective crime, sustained by the complicity of influential third states. Human rights organizations including Amnesty International and various genocide scholars have also concluded genocide is occurring.

Israel's position and counterarguments

Israel has consistently and categorically rejected the genocide charge. At the ICJ, Israel argued its war in Gaza was fought in self-defense, that it was targeting Hamas rather than Palestinians, and that its leadership had not displayed genocidal intent. Israeli legal representatives argued "not every conflict is genocidal... the crime of genocide in international law... stands alone among violations of international law as the zenith of evil, the crime of crimes, ultimate in wickedness."

Regarding the 2025 UN Commission report specifically, Israel's Foreign Ministry called it "distorted and false," claiming those who published it are "Hamas proxies", and its UN ambassador called it a "libellous rant." Some allied governments have also rejected the characterization—Germany's government, for instance, "decisively and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide brought against Israel before the International Court of Justice."

Why there's no consensus "answer"

Bottom line: As of late 2025, the UN's own Commission of Inquiry—the most authoritative independent investigative body—has formally concluded that genocide occurred. This represents a significant shift in the official record. However, this is not the same as a binding legal verdict; the ICJ case that could produce one remains unresolved, and Israel disputes the finding entirely. Whether you consider the question "settled" depends heavily on how much weight you place on UN investigative findings versus the absence of a final judicial ruling.