Israeli human rights groups accuse Netanyahu's gov't of Gaza genocide in new report
Israeli left-wing human rights organization B'Tselem accused the Israeli government of executing a "coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip," characterizing it as a developing "genocidal regime," in a new report on Monday.
The report, which included testimonies, statistical data, and documentation, outlined what the organization calls a deliberate state-led effort to dismantle Palestinian civil infrastructure and social cohesion in Gaza.
'An examination of Israel's policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack, leads us to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip,' the report states.
Alongside this publication, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI) issued a legal-medical analysis that concluded Israel's ongoing military campaign meets the criteria for genocide as defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which Israel is a signatory. The PHRI report cited direct attacks on hospitals, restrictions on medical aid and evacuations, and the targeting of medical personnel as evidence of 'a deliberate policy aimed at harming the Palestinian population as a group.'
B'Tselem warns destructive model currently unfolding in Gaza may extend to West Bank
B'Tselem said that the destructive model currently unfolding in Gaza may soon extend into the West Bank, where it said similar patterns are already emerging on a smaller scale. 'There is a real risk the genocide will spread beyond the Gaza Strip,' the organization cautioned.
Yuli Novak, Executive Director of B'Tselem, described the findings as a moral crisis for Israeli society: 'Nothing prepares you for the realization that you are part of a society committing genocide. This is a deeply painful moment for us.' She added, 'After decades of separation, and of dehumanization of Palestinians, the horrors of the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, created deep existential fear among Israelis. The extremist, far-right messianic government is using that fear to promote an agenda of destruction and expulsion.'
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel emphasized the specific targeting of Gaza's health infrastructure. 'This is not incidental damage from war – it is a deliberate policy,' the organization's report claims. PHRI Executive Director Dr. Guy Shalev stated, 'Israel is knowingly destroying Gaza's health system. As people who believe in the sanctity of life, we are obligated to speak the truth: this is genocide, and we must fight it.'
Shalev cited over 22 months of attacks on hospitals, denial of life-saving treatment, and blocked humanitarian aid as evidence of a sustained strategy of destruction. 'It is our duty as medical professionals, and to our colleagues in Gaza who are risking their lives to save others under impossible conditions, to face the truth and do everything we can to protect them,' he said.
Both B'Tselem and PHRI issued an urgent call to the international community, asserting that global actors, through action or silence, are complicit in Israel's actions. They urged world leaders to intervene using all available legal mechanisms under international law to halt what they described as an ongoing genocide in Gaza.
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