The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel has concluded in its report released today, that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.
Commission Chair, Navi Pillay told media gathered in Geneva for the release of their findings that, “Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and that it is continuing with that genocide”.
The Commission concludes on reasonable grounds that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have committed and are continuing to commit the following actus reus of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, namely (i) killing members of the group; (ii) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (iii) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (iv) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
Pillay said the Commission has documented more than 16,000 pieces of evidence (to date) in reaching its conclusion.
It is also important to note that the events in Gaza since 7 October, 2023 have not occurred in isolation. They were preceded by decades of unlawful occupation and oppression under an ideology requiring the removal of the Palestinian population from their lands and their replacement.
Commission Chair Pillay
Today we witness in real time how the promise of never again is broken and tested in the eyes of the world. The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a moral outrage and a legal emergency. Member states must act now. There is no need to wait for the International Court of Justice to declare it a genocide, all states are obligated to use whatever means within its power to prevent the commission of genocide.
In June this year on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s news television channel UN Special Rapporteur oPt, Francesca Albanese said, “as of January, 2024 your state like my state and all others are obliged to prevent genocide”.
Reaction
There has been no new response to the Commission’s finding that Israel is committing genocide from the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese or Foreign Minister, Penny Wong.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong did not answer questions about whether Australia would be taking any new actions in light of this report.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Wong reiterated previous statements regarding a ceasefire, hostage deal and for Israel to stop undermining a ‘two state solution’.
In a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) Israel said:
In response to the Pillay, Sidoti and Kothari Commission of Inquiry’s fake report:
Three individuals serving as Hamas proxies, notorious for their openly antisemitic positions — and whose horrific statements about Jews have been condemned worldwide — released today another fake “report” about Gaza.
The report relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others. These fabrications have already been thoroughly debunked, including in an independent, in-depth academic study by BESA, which refuted every single false claim regarding genocide. Needless to say, the three authors made no attempt to address the clear findings of the BESA study.
In stark contrast to the lies in the report, Hamas is the party that attempted genocide in Israel — murdering 1,200 people, raping women, burning families alive, and openly declaring its goal of killing every Jew.
Miraculously, all three authors of this fabricated report have recently resigned. They should not be replaced.
Israel categorically rejects this distorted and false report and calls for the immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry.
During the press conference for the release of UN Commission findings (Australian) Commissioner, Chris Sidoti sarcastically dismissed Israeli denials saying:
Honestly the Israeli responses are becoming so boring, they say the same thing every time. They’re producing the report responses by ChatGPT these days and they spend so much money in the Foreign Ministry on propaganda, you’d think they’d actually come up with something original. I would want them to engage with the evidence, but they never engage with the evidence. They put the report into ChatGPT and they put out the standard response. No one takes it seriously.
UN Commissioner Chris Sidoti
We can not understand how traumatic the 7 October was for the people of Israel, and the trauma and their suffering has been ruthlessly manipulated by Netanyahu and his cronies for the last two years and it’s time that it stopped.
Intent
The Commission concludes Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant have incited genocide and Israeli authorities have failed to prosecute them.
Statements by other Israeli political and military leaders, including Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister for Finance Bezalel Smotrich, were not fully assessed by the Commission to determine if they have also incited genocide, but the Commission says they should be fully assessed for incitement to commit genocide.
The Commission concludes statements made by Israeli authorities and the pattern of conduct is evidence of genocidal intent. Also, “that genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference that could be drawn from the totality of the evidence”.
Proving intent to commit genocide is considered to be the most difficult aspect of a prosecution for genocide, however the Commission is clearly of the view in the case of Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian people, genocidal intent is clear.
“It is clear there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.”
— United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) September 16, 2025
UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry's report shows #Israel has committed #genocide in #Gaza.https://t.co/UGjepPwmwo pic.twitter.com/rTJhFeKsvA
Commission recommendations
To the state of Israel:
- Immediately end the commission of genocide in the Gaza Strip and comply fully with the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice in its orders of 26 January, 28 March and 24 May 2024;
- Immediately implement a complete permanent ceasefire in Gaza and end all military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory that involve the commission of genocidal acts;
- Restore, allow and ensure unhindered access of all United Nations staff, including UNRWA international staff, and all international agencies coordinating or providing humanitarian aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem;
- Immediately end its policy on starvation and end the distribution of food aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation;
- Ensure full, unimpeded access of humanitarian aid at scale and through multiple distribution points throughout the Gaza Strip, including food, clean water, medical equipment and medicine to all areas of Gaza through a UN-led humanitarian response;
- Allow, facilitate and ensure unhindered medical evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza to third States;
- Allow, facilitate and ensure the unhindered access to Gaza by emergency medical teams;
- Allow the Commission access to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, to continue its investigations;
- Investigate and punish the commission of genocide and incitement to genocide against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.
The Commission to UN member states:
- Employ all means reasonably available to them to prevent the commission of genocide in the Gaza Strip;
- Cease the transfer of arms and other equipment or items, including jet fuel, to the State of Israel or third States where there is reason to suspect their use in military operations that have involved or could involve the commission of genocide;
- Ensure individuals and corporations in their territories and within their jurisdiction are not involved in the commission of genocide, aiding and assisting the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide and investigate and prosecute those who may be implicated in these crimes under international law;
- Facilitate the investigations and domestic proceedings and take action (including imposing sanctions) against the State of Israel and against individuals or corporations that are involved in or facilitating the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide;
- Cooperate with the investigation of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
To the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court:
- Examine, within its continuing investigation in the Situation in the State of Palestine, the crime of genocide for amendment to existing arrest warrants and addition to future application for arrest warrants;
- Examine the involvement of officials mentioned in this report for inclusion as those most responsible for international crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory.
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