Israel 'using Hamas as pretext to commit genocide', B'Tselem says

The National

6 days ago

B'Tselem – also known as the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories – outlined their conclusions in an 88-page report on Monday entitled 'Our Genocide'.
The group said: 'Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. It sounds inconceivable. But it's the truth.
'Israel is taking deliberate, coordinated action to destroy the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
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'Explicit statements by Israeli officials, combined with a consistent policy of destructive attacks and other practices of annihilation, prove beyond a doubt that Israel's target is the entire population of Gaza.'
After warning that the same tactics being used by Benjamin Netanyahu's Government were also being deployed in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and within Israel, B'Tselem added: 'The international community has not only failed in its duty to stop the atrocities, but the leaders of the Western world, particularly the United States and Europe, also share responsibility by providing support that enables Israel's acts of destruction.
'It is the duty of the international community to stop the genocide Israel is carrying out in Gaza.'
The Our Genocide report states that the Israeli government has:
Used starvation as a weapon of war, with aid blocked and food systems deliberately destroyed.
Targeted cultural, religious and educational institutions, with mass graves, disruption of funerals, and desecration of bodies documented.
Used prisons and military detention centres which are described as torture camps where Palestinians, including minors, are abused, starved, and denied medical care.
Systematically targeted infrastructure including homes, hospitals, schools, electricity and water systems.
Attacked both UNRWA and the broader refugee status of Palestinians, framed as part of an effort to dismantle collective identity.
Used the 7 October attacks as a pretext to implement longstanding goals of ethnic cleansing and permanent population transfer.
In the conclusions of their report, the rights group add: 'The Israeli regime, which has stripped every moral value and obligation of meaning, is a danger to all people under its rule. Therefore, everything must be done to prevent it from claiming more victims.
'In the immediate term, the recognition that the Israeli regime is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and the deep concern that it may expand to other areas where Palestinians live under Israeli rule demand urgent and unequivocal action from both Israeli society and the international community.
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'This is the time to act. This is the time to save those who have not yet been lost forever, and use every means available under international law to stop Israel's genocide of the Palestinians.'
Elsewhere, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI) has published a legal-medical analysis documenting the deliberate and systematic destruction of Gaza's healthcare system.
The Israel-based organisation said in its report: "Israel's conduct satisfies three key acts enumerated in Article II of the Genocide Convention. In our area of expertise – the right to health – the legal and moral conclusion is unavoidable.
"The destruction of life-sustaining systems, the cumulative patterns of destruction, the bodily and mental trauma inflicted, and the direct killing of civilians, when understood in light of the implemented policy and the public rhetoric, make clear that Israel's campaign in Gaza constitutes genocide under international law."
Netanyahu is wanted for arrest by the International Criminal Court for allegations of crimes against humanity, including using starvation as a weapon of war.
The Israeli prime minister has found support in US president Donald Trump, who has backed the ethnic cleansing of [[Gaza]] – even sharing an AI-generated video of the pair sharing a drink in a future development in the region.
The Israeli government has been asked for a response.