Major Israeli rights groups conclude war on Gaza is genocide - War on Gaza
Both organisations are frequent critics of Israeli government policies, but the language in their reports issued on Monday was their most stark yet.
"Nothing prepares you for the realisation that you are part of a society committing genocide. This is a deeply painful moment for us," B'Tselem executive director Yuli Novak told a news conference unveiling the two reports.
"As Israelis and Palestinians who live here and witness the reality every day, we have a duty to speak the truth as clearly as possible," she said.
"Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians."
Israel's war in Gaza for the past 21 months has left much of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians, in ruins, and has killed at least 59,821 civilians, most of them women and children.
All Gazans have been driven from their homes at least once since the start of the war, and UN agencies warn that residents face a growing threat of famine and malnutrition.
The International Court of Justice, in an interim ruling in early 2024 in a case lodged by South Africa, found it "plausible" that the Israeli offensive had violated the UN Genocide Convention.
The reports from B'Tselem -- one of Israel's best-known rights groups -- and Physicians for Human Rights Israel argue that the war's objectives go further.
B'Tselem's report cites statements from senior politicians to illustrate that Israel "is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip".
Physicians for Human Rights Israel's report documents what the group says is "the deliberate and systematic destruction of Gaza's healthcare system".
Follow us on:
Short link:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East
3 hours ago
- Middle East
OPEN// Sisi welcomes UK's intent to recognize Palestine in call with British PM
CAIRO, July 31 (MENA) - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi reaffirmed Egypt's welcome of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent statements indicating the United Kingdom's intention to recognize the State of Palestine. During a phone call Sisi received on Thursday from Starmer, he emphasized that such a move represents a positive step toward restoring the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, chief among them the establishment of an independent state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Presidential spokesman Mohamed El Shennawy said the call touched on the distinguished relations between Egypt and the United Kingdom. Both sides agreed to continue advancing cooperation across various sectors, particularly in economy, trade, tourism, education, and joint investment projects. The leaders also discussed key regional developments, with President Sisi reiterating Egypt's support for the UK's declared intention to recognize the State of Palestine. He stressed that a just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian problem, through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, is the only viable path toward lasting peace and stability in the Middle East. Sisi also shed light on Egypt's ongoing efforts to de-escalate the situation in Gaza, highlighting Cairo's push for a ceasefire agreement, the acceleration of humanitarian aid delivery and the release of hostages and detainees, as well as the urgent need to begin reconstruction in the strip. He reaffirmed Egypt's firm position rejecting any displacement of Palestinians from their land. (MENA) M S H/R E E
Middle East
3 hours ago
- Middle East
OPEN// PM chairs meeting of Coordinating Council for Fiscal and Monetary Policies
NEW ALAMEIN, Egypt, July 31 (MENA) - The Coordinating Council for Fiscal and Monetary Policies, chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, affirmed during its meeting on Thursday the continuation of a flexible exchange rate system, as well as the implementation of the government's initial public offerings (IPOs) program and the State Ownership Policy Document with a view to generating additional resources to reduce public debt while maintaining competitive market conditions through the Egyptian Competition Authority. Held at the government headquarters in New Alamein City in Egypt's North Coast, the meeting was attended by Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Hassan Abdullah, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Rania el Mashat, Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan el Khatib, economic experts, deputy ministers and senior officials. The meeting highlighted the government's successful progress in paying the petroleum sector's dues to foreign partners according to the set schedule, Cabinet spokesman Mohamed El Homsany said. The meeting also reviewed the key policies and measures taken under the National Structural Reform Program, which is Egypt's main tool for turning economic goals into action, the spokesman added. The program focuses on enhancing macroeconomic stability, boosting economic competitiveness, improving the business climate and supporting green transition, he noted. The council also reviewed Egypt's participation in the UN's Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Spain's Seville city, where Egypt called for enabling private sector participation, increasing foreign investments in developing countries, improving governance in international financial institutions, expanding Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocations for developing nations, strengthening the UN's economic role globally, and updating debt sustainability assessment frameworks, the spokesman said. Egypt had also called during the FfD4 for promoting South-South and trilateral cooperation, defining global public goods, and using innovative financing tools to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship, according to him. (MENA) I S N/R E E
Al-Ahram Weekly
3 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Eight aid-seekers among 22 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza Friday - War on Gaza
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire and air strikes killed at least 22 people on Friday, including eight who were waiting to collect food aid in the war-battered Palestinian territory. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five people were killed in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip, and four more when a vehicle was hit in the central area of Deir el-Balah. Bassal said Israeli forces killed five Palestinians who were trying to return to the Gaza City area, in the territory's north, after word had spread that troops had withdrawn from there. There was no comment from the Israeli military, which told AFP it could not confirm any of the incidents without specific coordinates for each of them. The civil defence agency reported deadly fire at Palestinians who were seeking humanitarian aid, in a territory where UN-backed experts have reported that "famine is now unfolding". Bassal said six people were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting near northern Gaza's Zikim crossing, through which aid trucks have entered from Israel in recent weeks. Israeli fire on a crowd near an aid distribution site in southern Gaza killed two people and wounded 70 others, the civil defence said. Thousands of Gazans have gathered each day near aid distribution points in Gaza, including the four managed by GHF, whose operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations. According to the UN, at least 1,373 Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers as they tried to access food between 27 May and 31 July 2025, including 859 who were in the vicinity of GHF sites. Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and aid into Gaza since the start of the war nearly 22 months ago have led to shortages of food and essential goods, including medicine, medical supplies and fuel, which hospitals rely on to power their generators. The shortages were exacerbated by a more than two-month total blockade on aid imposed by Israel, which began easing the stoppage in late May as GHF was beginning its operations. The UN says Gaza requires at least 500 trucks of aid per day. Human Rights Watch on Friday warned that Israeli forces at the distribution sites of the US- and Israeli-backed GHF have routinely opened fire on starving Palestinian civilians in acts that amount to war crimes. 'The dire humanitarian situation is a direct result of Israel's use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war – a war crime – as well as Israel's continued intentional deprivation of aid and basic services, ongoing actions that amount to the crime against humanity of extermination, and acts of genocide,' read the report released Friday. "The repeated use of lethal force against Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces, without justification, violates both international humanitarian and human rights law.... Regular killings by Israeli forces near GHF sites also amount to war crimes," it added. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
