The report is intended to be detailed and damning, presenting evidence it says shows that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. It says that Israel has breached the Genocide Convention that was passed in 1948 by the newly established United Nations. The word genocide, and the convention that defined it as a crime, were directly inspired by the genocide of six million Jews by Nazi Germany.
Israel denies all allegations that its conduct in Gaza has broken the treaties and conventions that make up the laws of war and international humanitarian law. It justifies its actions as self-defense, in protection of its citizens and to force the release of the hostages taken by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on 7 October 2023, around 20 of whom are believed still to be alive.
The Israelis have dismissed the report as antisemitic lies inspired by Hamas. It was compiled by a commission of inquiry set up by the UN Human Rights Council. Israel and the US are boycotting the Council, which both countries say is biased against them.
But the findings of the report will feed into the growing international condemnation of Israel's conduct, which is also coming from Israel's traditional western allies as well as the Gulf Arab monarchies that normalized relations with Israel in the Abraham Accords.
Next week at the UN General Assembly in New York, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada and others are due to join the majority of UN members by recognizing the sovereignty of an independent Palestinian state.
The move will be more than symbolic. It will change the debate about the future of the conflict that began more than a century ago when Zionist Jews from Europe came to settle in Palestine. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has condemned recognition as antisemitic, and a reward for Hamas terrorism.
Genocide is defined in the 1948 convention, as the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group – in this case, Palestinians in Gaza.
The report details actions against Palestinians inside Gaza and in jails inside Israel. Among a long list of accusations is Israeli targeting of civilians that it has a legal obligation to protect, and the imposition of inhumane conditions causing the death of Palestinians, including the deprivation of food, water and medicines. That is a reference to the blockade that has produced a famine as well as widespread starvation, according to the IPC, the international body that assesses food emergencies.
The new UN report also details forced displacement, currently happening in Gaza City after the Israeli military, the IDF, ordered all civilians there to move south. Around one million people are believed to be affected. Israel's offensive is gathering pace, with air strikes and the destruction of many buildings, including high rises that are symbols of Gaza City, which the IDF calls Hamas terror towers.
Legally, it is hard to prove the crime of genocide. At the International Court of Justice, South Africa has brought a case that Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinians. It will take several years for the case to be adjudicated.
But with the continuing war in Gaza and the current Israeli offensive, the UN report is going to deepen international divisions about the war. On one side are countries who demand an immediate end to the killing and destruction in Gaza, and condemn the famine caused by Israel's siege. They include the UK and France. On the other are Israel and the United States, continuing to provide vital military aid and diplomatic cover for Israeli actions.
