Is Genocide Happening in Gaza?

[Melanie O’Brien is Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Western Australia, President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and Visiting Scholar with the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota Law School.]

Many people are asking the question, ‘is genocide happening in Gaza?’. The question was explored in the media in the early days after 7 October 2023 (see, e.g., here and here), but has gained traction in recent months, with global media doing extensive investigative pieces including interviews with multiple genocide scholars (including the author) (see, e.g., here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here). The term has been used by authors of posts on this blog (e.g. here, here and here), and other blogs (e.g. here, here and here). The term has also been applied by human rights organisations (see also here), including Israeli human rights organisations, and UN experts. The question merits a straightforward legal analysis, applying the law (the definition of genocide as found in the Genocide Convention and the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute) to the facts. 

While asking the ‘genocide question’ is important, it is also crucial to remember that myriad war crimes are being committed on an almost daily basis in this conflict, with conduct potentially amounting to war crimes including wilful killing; hostage-taking; sexual violence; indiscriminate bombing; attacks on civilians and civilian objects; starvation as a method of warfare; obstructing rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need; attacks on hospitals, healthcare facilities, healthcare vehicles and medical/healthcare workers; perfidy; attacks on persons hors de combat; attacks on peacekeepers and peacekeeping installations; attacks on UN and other humanitarian workers; torture and inhumane treatment; and more. Many of these acts and other acts also amount to crimes against humanity, including murder; imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty; sexual and reproductive violence; persecution; other inhumane acts; persecution; torture; and deportation or forcible transfer of population. International criminal courts and tribunals have recognised that different international crimes can occur simultaneously and that the same conduct can amount to crimes within multiple crime categories; i.e. the killing of a person can be a war crime (wilful killing), a crime against humanity (murder) and genocide (killing a member of a targeted group). Thus, many of the above-mentioned conduct will also be mentioned in this brief analysis of the crime of genocide.

As genocide scholars know, genocide is a process, not an event. While this post will focus on conduct since 7 October 2023, the genocide process did not begin on 8 October 2023. It was prefaced by decades of human rights abuses against the Palestinian people; extensive violations of international law involving discrimination, persecution, apartheid and more, some aspects of which have been clearly delineated by legal bodies as violations of international law. It is the decades of discrimination and persecution, creating a system of dehumanisation, that has permitted the escalation of destructive conduct against Palestinians since 7 October 2023.

Destroy in Part or in Whole

Case law has interpreted the concept of ‘destroy’ to mean physical or biological destruction (see e.g., Case 002/02 [800]) (although this limitation is criticised by genocide scholars and does not fit with the concept of genocide as created by Raphael Lemkin). At the time of writing, 57,680 Palestinians have been reported killed, with estimates that the number is likely higher due to the likelihood of unrecovered bodies buried in the rubble of destroyed buildings. The definition of genocide does not require the entire destruction of the targeted people, although one of the challenges is determining what constitutes ‘part’ of the group. That ‘part’ must be a substantial part, significant enough to have an impact on the group as a whole (see, e.g., Krstić, Appeal Judgement [8] and Case 002/02 [802]). The significant part may be either a substantial percentage of the population or a significant section of the group with a prominent role (e.g. leadership) (see, e.g., Mladić, Trial Judgment [3437]). By the start of 2025, it was estimated that the population in Gaza had decreased by 6% since October 2023, due to deaths and displacement. There is no set amount as to what constitutes a substantial part of the population, but for such a small population of just over 2 million, it could certainly be argued that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza satisfies the ‘in part’ requirement.

A National, Ethnical, Racial, or Religious Group

Palestinians could be argued to fall within any of these group categories. That is, they are nationally Palestinian, religiously Muslim, racially Arab, and ethnically distinct from Israelis. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has held: ‘The Palestinians appear to constitute a distinct “national, ethnical, racial or religious group”, and hence a protected group within the meaning of Article II of the Genocide Convention’ (para. 45). The Court did not specify which group or groups, and it can be anticipated that this will be decided in the merits stage of the case.

Specific Conduct

Killing Members of the Group

As noted, 57,680 Palestinians had been killed as of early July 2025, with almost daily reports of more deaths, such as attacks on medical facilities, open firing on aid seekers, and bombing of civilian areas. Killings are carried out through bombings and shootings, including of civilian areas such as refugee camps, schools and residential zones. Deaths are also caused through denial of  adequate living conditions, addressed below.

Causing Serious Bodily or Mental Harm

In terms of direct bodily harm, there are a reported 137,409 injuries to Palestinians, including caused by bombings and shootings. Bodily harm in the form of malnutrition, dehydration and disease is also caused by the conditions of life, as outlined below. There have also been reports of detention and torture of Palestinians, including bodily harm such as sexual violence, beatings and being forced to hold positions for long periods of time. There have also been reports of systematic sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), causing serious bodily and mental harm.

The mental harm experienced by Palestinians is caused by the constant fear of injury or death, the loss of loved ones, being constantly surrounded by death and dead bodies, living in conditions of deprivation and dehumanisation, a general denial of human rights (in particular, the right to dignity), and an inability to escape these conditions. The experience of those who were tortured and subject to SGBV would also amount to mental harm.

Deliberately Inflicting Conditions of Life Calculated to Bring About the Group’s Physical Destruction

Conditions in Gaza have long included ‘deliberate deprivation of resources indispensable for survival’ (ICC Elements of Crimes, Article 6(c)(4) footnote 4). Previous conduct that has been deemed to fall within this genocidal crime includes systematic expulsion from homes, denial of medical services, deprivation of food, forced displacement, and creating circumstances that would lead to a slow death (e.g. lack of proper housing, clothing or hygiene) (see, e.g., Mladić, Trial Judgment [3434]; Karadžić, Appeal Judgment [546]; Genocide Convention Case (Croatia v Serbia) [161, 163]; Akayesu, Trial Judgement [115, 506]). 

All these acts are occurring in Gaza, through the consistent forced displacement of people; the bombing of medical facilities; the killing of healthcare workers; the denial of humanitarian assistance including food, water, medicine and other healthcare necessities; destruction of essential facilities such as water and electricity plants; deliberate obstruction of access to food and water; lack of proper housing due to the destruction of buildings (living in destroyed buildings, tents or makeshift shelters); and lack of hygiene. These actions have resulted in starvation conditions (at times famine), dehydration, and the spread of infectious diseases. Due to lack of adequate healthcare facilities, injuries and diseases that may be otherwise treatable become deadly. As proof of the genocide process, some of these conditions are an escalation of a long-time Israeli policy in Gaza; in 2022, most Gazans were already classified as moderately or severely food insecure.

Imposing Measures Intended to Prevent Births

Extensive, systematic SGBV such as rape has occurred, as well as significant harms to the reproductive capacity of girls and women due to starvation and lack of access to water and sanitation. Additionally, girls and women have died from pregnancy and childbirth complications due to the lack of healthcare professionals and facilities. Direct attacks on sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities, including maternity wards and a fertility clinic holding 4000 embryos, have been determined by UN experts to amount to the genocide crime of imposing measures intended to prevent birth. Carried out in such a systematic manner, all this conduct amounts to imposing measures intended to prevent birth.

Special Intent/Dolus Specialis

The special intent (dolus specialis) of genocide, the intent to destroy the targeted group, is the most difficult element of genocide to prove. It is also the one point on which those who disagree that the crimes being committed against Palestinians in Gaza use to make their argument, i.e. that there is no dolus specialis. However, evidence demonstrates otherwise. Intent may be demonstrated through express statements, particularly by military or civilian leaders, but such express statements are not required. Intent may be inferred from a pattern of conduct, from the factual circumstances of the crime (see, e.g., Krstić, Appeal Judgement [33-34]). However, in the case of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, both statements of intent and a pattern of genocidal conduct are evident. 

Since October 2023, Israeli civilian and military leadership, as well as prominent community members such as journalists and soldiers, have made express statements about the intention to deny Palestinians necessities of life, erase Palestine from the map, and destroy Palestinians. Dehumanising statements are also made, such as referring to ‘human animals’ or ‘monsters’. Such statements and the broader narrative around Palestine has significantly impacted the opinion of Israelis, with studies demonstrating a large percentage support ending the existence of Palestinians in Gaza and the deportation of Arab Israelis. These are the conditions that enable genocide: where leaders dehumanise the targeted group and coopt the majority population to support their escalating criminal conduct.

The factual circumstances and pattern of conduct noted above in this post can only lead to the conclusion that there is an intent to destroy the people of Palestine, whether in whole or in part. Direct killings through indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas (including refugee camps), denial of healthcare, and imposition of conditions from the outset that clearly lead to starvation, famine, dehydration and death due to malnutrition and diseases, all indicate that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians of Gaza. What else are you seeking if you starve and dehydrate people, leaving them in conditions of disease? My research has found that the denial of food and water, and denial of sanitation, is a significant part of the genocide process; it is non-resource intensive way to kill people, with no weapons needed. Instead, people die of starvation, dehydration and/or disease.

Gaza has also been destroyed as a liveable territory, with the scale of destruction covering almost the entirety of Gaza, demolishing almost the entire infrastructure, including buildings, agricultural areas, and electricity and water plants. The Israeli government has express plans to demolish the civilian infrastructure of Gaza. This demonstrates an intent to deny Palestinians a place to live in that territory, forcing them to (at a minimum) relocate. However, Gazans are not able to flee the borders of Gaza; instead, they are constantly being displaced within Gaza to areas that are subsequently attacked by the Israeli Defence Force, leaving them with nowhere to live. Therefore, the pattern of conduct is to constantly displace Gazans within the territory of Gaza, continue to bomb or shoot at them, deny them necessities, and raze the buildings of Gaza to the ground. What other intent does this demonstrate than to destroy these Palestinians?

It is also noteworthy that the conduct in Gaza is occurring at the same time as Israel increases its occupied land in West Bank, displacing Palestinians in that area too, which adds to the evidence of intent to remove Palestinians from the area. As past genocides demonstrate, when regimes cannot ethnically cleanse an area, conduct escalates to genocide as the only way to eliminate the targeted group from the desired territory. The desire for territory is a prominent part of genocide. States who seek the so-called and unachievable ‘permanent security’ do so by claiming territory and removing the unwanted ‘other’ from such territory, through forcible internal displacement and/or deportation (see chapter 9). Thus, displacement and territorial conquest is a clear indicator of genocidal intent.

Pending Cases

As a post, this piece has certainly not been able to include all the evidence that would contribute to an argument that genocide is occurring in Gaza. There is already a case in the ICJ under the Genocide Convention brought by South Africa against Israel, and it can be expected that South Africa will present an extensive amount of evidence in the merits stage of that case (as it has already submitted large swathes of evidence even at provisional measures stage). The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, (as well as three Hamas leaders, at least two of whom are since confirmed dead). The arrest warrants issued in November 2024 against Netanyahu and Gallant are for war crimes and crimes against humanity. No charges of genocide were included in those arrest warrants. However, other charges can be brought in the future, and, like South Africa before the ICJ, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor will no doubt be amassing a large amount of evidence which could be used to prove charges of genocide. 

In its Provisional Measures orders in the South Africa v Israel case, the ICJ warned of a serious risk of genocide that put state parties to the Genocide Convention (including Israel) on notice that they had a duty already then in early 2024 to prevent genocide in Gaza. Whatever the exact moment was of ‘crystallisation’ of these crimes as genocide, it is without a doubt that we are witnessing a genocide now in Gaza, and state parties to the Genocide Convention are failing in their obligation to prevent and punish genocide.