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

Investigating the genocide question — gathering legal analysis, ICJ proceedings, and reports on Gaza to give a balanced overview.

Whether Israel's military actions in Gaza since October 7, 2023 constitute "genocide" is legally and politically disputed and has not been finally determined by an international court.

1. Legal definition

Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, genocide is defined as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group". As various legal analyses note:

> Genocide is not a synonym for mass killing. ... Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, specified acts must be committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a protected group as such

The acts include killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm; deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction; imposing measures intended to prevent births; and forcibly transferring children. Proving genocide therefore requires both prohibited acts and specific intent (dolus specialis), which is described as an extremely high bar.

The context is Israel's military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw over 250 taken hostage.

2. Proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)

In December 2023, South Africa lodged a case against Israel at the ICJ alleging violations of the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, also described as South Africa instituted proceedings on December 29, 2023, alleging violations amid the campaign following the October 7 attacks.

The ICJ issued provisional measures in January 2024, finding a plausible risk of genocide and ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts, ensure humanitarian aid, and preserve evidence. More precisely, the Court has been described as having recognised a plausible risk of genocide and asked Israel to implement provisional measures – three times in total over the past two years.

Crucially, the Court has not issued a final judgment on the merits:

> The ICJ has recognised a plausible risk... but has not delivered a final judgment on the genocide allegation

Other analysis stresses the distinction:

> “Plausible rights” in an interim order is not a merits finding that genocide occurred. ... There is no final judgment

And:

> The ICJ made no finding on the issue of whether there has been a genocide... The ICJ found that Palestinians in Gaza have a "plausible right" to be protected from genocide

Israel has strongly denied its actions amount to acts of genocide and has rejected the allegations as baseless, arguing its campaign targeted Hamas. Israel has also rejected the allegations and denied that its actions in Gaza constitute genocide.

3. Findings by UN bodies and human rights organizations that conclude genocide has occurred

Several UN-related and major human rights bodies have concluded that Israel's actions do constitute genocide:

> A team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations' Human Rights Council has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

And:

> An independent commission of inquiry established by the UN Human Rights Council concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel rejects that finding

The commission identified four categories of genocidal acts: killing members of a protected group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately imposing conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction, and measures intended to prevent births within the group. It also alleged that statements by senior Israeli officials provided evidence of incitement. The report noted it constituted genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and that there were reasonable grounds to determine that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

These findings cite the scale of death and destruction. Gaza health authorities have reported more than 73,000-74,000 deaths since October 2023, with recent counts at 74,250 killed with 175,278 injured, and prior reporting of more than 45,000 Palestinians killed and most of the 2.3 million population displaced. The Commission noted that between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2025, at least 20,179 children were killed.

4. Counter-arguments and denials

The Israeli government denies that its operations constitute genocide. It states that the military actions are in response to the October 7 attacks and sought to destroy Hamas, overthrow its governance, and free hostages, and that its aims are dismantling Hamas's governing and military capabilities and creating conditions for the hostages' return, not harming Gaza's Palestinians. At the UN, Prime Minister Netanyahu called the war "the opposite of genocide," saying Israel had taken extraordinary steps to protect civilians.

In response to HRW and Amnesty, Israel said:

> "The truth is the complete opposite of HRW's lies," adding that Israel had enabled a continuous flow of water and aid into Gaza

and that it had repeatedly rejected any accusation of genocide, saying it has respected international law and has a right to defend itself after the October 7 attack.

Other legal and military experts reject the label on intent grounds:

> Seventy-five retired senior military leaders and legal experts rejected accusations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, arguing ... that Israel's conduct does not meet the legal definition ... genocide requires evidence of an intention to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group in whole or in part

Signatories stated the 1948 Convention requires proof of specific intent and said available evidence does not show Israel intended to destroy Palestinians as a group, pointing to IDF precautions — advance warnings, leaflets, calls and protected corridors — and to humanitarian deliveries as actions inconsistent with genocidal intent.

The legal distinction is also emphasized:

> The legal definition of genocide also requires specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a protected national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The commission concluded that the necessary elements were present. Israel rejected the allegation, maintaining that its military campaign was directed against Hamas

and that Israel vociferously denies claims that it committed genocide during its 2 1/2 year war in Gaza.

5. Status summary

Because genocide turns on specific intent and is ultimately a determination for a competent court, whether Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide remains a contested legal question pending final judicial resolution, with credible investigative bodies reaching opposite conclusions from the Israeli government's position.