THE HAGUE: Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians during the ongoing Gaza war, according to a report released on Thursday. This serious claim has been denied by Israeli leaders. Amnesty stated that after months of examining events and statements from Israeli officials, they believe the actions taken meet the requirements for genocide.
The 1948 Genocide Convention defines genocide as actions aimed at destroying, either fully or partly, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Israel has rejected these genocide claims, asserting it is acting within international law to defend itself following a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages. Since then, Israel has launched a military campaign in Gaza resulting in the deaths of more than 44,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Amnesty argues that most people in Gaza, which has 2.3 million residents, are now displaced, many multiple times. At hearings earlier this year at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where South Africa accused Israel of genocide, Israeli lawyers denied any such intentions. They claim their goal is to eliminate Hamas, not to harm Palestinians as a group.
Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, emphasized that their findings were not made lightly. After reviewing over 100 statements from Israeli officials, she strongly believes genocide is occurring. Callamard pointed out that Israel’s claim that its war only targets Hamas does not hold up under examination.
Amnesty has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate these genocide claims. The ICC is already looking into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories
Leave a Reply