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

This is one of the most contested and consequential questions in contemporary international law and politics, with significant legal proceedings underway and deeply divided expert and institutional opinion. Let me search for the most current information on this.This is a deeply contested question that sits at the center of major ongoing legal, political, and scholarly disputes. There is no single authoritative answer, but here's where things stand across different bodies:

The Legal Proceedings

The central legal case is South Africa v. Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which alleges violations of the Genocide Convention. This case has not been decided on the merits. In January 2024, the Court found that the Palestinians "appear to constitute" a protected group under the Genocide Convention, that "Palestinians in the Gaza Strip form a substantial part of the protected group," and therefore the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide is "plausible." This was a preliminary "plausibility" finding for provisional measures—not a final genocide determination. As of mid-2026, Israel's Counter-Memorial was filed within an extended time-limit, with a Court meeting on subsequent procedure held in April 2026—meaning the case is still ongoing years later.

A separate October 2025 ICJ advisory opinion addressed Israel's obligations regarding UN/humanitarian access as an occupying power, not the genocide question itself.

UN Findings

In September 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry reached a strong conclusion. An independent United Nations inquiry concluded for the first time that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and that the country's top leaders have incited genocide, finding that Israel has "committed four genocidal acts" in the enclave since October 7, 2023. The commission's chair, former ICTY/ICTR judge Navi Pillay, stated: "Genocide is occurring in Gaza," adding "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 findings cited the scale of the killings, aid blockages, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic as evidence.

Israel's Position

Israel categorically rejects this characterization. "The allegation of 'genocide' is outrageous and unfounded, and the State of Israel has categorically rejected it," the IDF has stated. Israel's legal team at the ICJ argued "There is no genocidal intent here; this is no genocide," maintaining that 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. Israel's ambassador to the UN called the Commission of Inquiry report a "libellous rant" and said it was authored by "Hamas proxies." Israel did not participate in that inquiry.

Genocide Scholars Are Divided—But Opinion Has Shifted

This is notable: many prominent genocide scholars initially avoided the term but later concluded genocide was occurring. Holocaust and genocide historian Omer Bartov, an Israeli-born scholar and former IDF soldier, first acknowledged war crimes and crimes against humanity in November 2023 before reaching the "inescapable conclusion" in July 2025 that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. He has stated plainly: Omer Bartov, an Israeli-born genocide scholar and military veteran, was among those who reconsidered his position after concluding in 2024 that Israeli statements were being operationally implemented.

Other leading figures in the field, including Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and the British specialist Martin Shaw, have reached similar conclusions. However, this is not unanimous—some scholars and military analysts strongly disagree, arguing the legal bar for genocide (specific intent to destroy a group, not just high casualties) hasn't been met, with critics arguing that genocide is defined by specific intent to destroy a group, which is a high legal bar that critics argue hasn't been met.

State Positions Are Split

Governments remain divided, often along political lines. Many states explicitly await the ICJ ruling, as Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said "Israel will be judged in the international courts" and that "the position we've always taken as a country is that questions relating to genocide are matters where we respect the independence of international courts and tribunals and their role in upholding international law". Others, including Bahrain, Bangladesh, and Bolivia, have already stated outright that genocide is occurring, with Bolivia even submitting a request to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the ICJ in October 2024.

Bottom Line

There is no final, binding legal ruling yet on whether genocide has occurred—the ICJ case remains in progress. However, a UN Commission of Inquiry, a growing number of genocide scholars, Amnesty International, and many governments/NGOs have concluded that genocide has occurred or is occurring, while Israel, the United States government, and some scholars and legal experts strongly reject this characterization, framing the conflict as self-defense against Hamas within the laws of armed conflict.

Given the stakes and complexity, I'd encourage you to look at primary sources directly—the UN Commission of Inquiry's full report, Israel's ICJ submissions, and analyses from genocide scholars on both sides—rather than relying solely on secondhand characterizations.