Gaza: When the UN confuses war and genocide
A recent report by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (COI) concludes that Israel has harbored a “genocidal intent” since October 7, 2023. This is an extremely serious accusation — the gravest under international law — since it labels a crime against humanity at the very top of the moral and legal hierarchy.
The COI is a unique feature of the UN system: it is the only commission with a permanent, open-ended mandate targeting a single country — Israel. Created by the Human Rights Council, where the G77 [1]majority sets the agenda, its three members share a well-established Third-Worldist ideological outlook. Its chair, Navi Pillay, has already called Israel an apartheid state; Miloon Kothari spoke of the “Jewish diaspora controlling social media”[2]; and Chris Sidoti compared Israeli military operations to “a factory of Palestinian terrorism.”[3]
In this context, the COI’s conclusions read more like the justification of a preordained outcome than the result of incontrovertible evidence.
The Genocide Convention[4] criminalizes the commission of acts intended to physically or psychologically destroy a group, prevent its reproduction, or deprive it of its children — and crucially, it requires proof of a specific intent to do so. This makes it all the more important to examine the Israeli leaders’ statements that are cited as proof of this intent.
The COI quotes Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s statement, “We are fighting human animals,”[5] without placing it in the context of the days immediately following October 7, when it referred explicitly to Hamas fighters. The same is true for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call to “Remember Amalek,”[6] a biblical reference to an existential threat, in which he clarified that the target was Hamas, not the Palestinian population.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s statement that “Gaza must be erased” is political hyperbole — not an operational order. The Israel Defense Forces remain bound by international humanitarian law and under the close scrutiny of Israel’s Supreme Court.
Finally, the COI notes that certain soldiers shouted hateful slogans in videos — isolated incidents that do not express state policy and have led to disciplinary action.
One is tempted to answer the COI, which sees in such remarks proof of genocidal intent, with Cyrano’s famous retort: “Ah no! A little short, young man!”
The COI also cites other circumstances — none of which are conclusive:
Casualty figures: nearly 65,000 dead and 160,000 wounded, allegedly a majority civilians — relying entirely and uncritically on Hamas statistics. The report ignores that civilian losses are a direct consequence of Hamas’s use of human shields and its operations from within civilian areas. It also disregards repeated Israeli warnings and humanitarian corridors designed to protect civilians.
Allegations of famine and blockade: despite the fact that humanitarian supplies are massive, the report fails to address Hamas’s systematic diversion of aid and the operational challenges faced by humanitarian organizations.
Allegations of forced displacement: the COI ignores that evacuations are ordered to protect civilians and that return is planned as soon as conditions allow.
Destruction of civilian infrastructure: hospitals, schools, water systems, and power plants have indeed been hit, but most were used by Hamas as tunnels, weapons depots, or command centers. The Al-Basma Clinic case is emblematic: an Israeli strike in December 2023 destroyed 4,000 embryos and 1,000 sperm and egg samples. The COI labeled the strike “genocidal,” claiming it aimed to prevent Palestinian births — a pure show trial, as the IDF stated the strike targeted Hamas facilities nearby and that damage to the clinic was unintended collateral damage.
In short, the report’s methodological flaws are numerous. Selective quotations are elevated to “evidence” of state policy, casualty numbers rely exclusively on Hamas sources without independent verification, Hamas’s exploitation of humanitarian, medical, civil, and religious infrastructure is dramatically underplayed, the alleged famine ignores over two million tons of aid delivered, and deaths from malnutrition remain marginal according to the UN.
Whereas the Genocide Convention requires clear proof of a coordinated plan and converging evidence of intent to exterminate, the reality on the ground shows that civilians receive repeated warnings, evacuation routes are opened, humanitarian aid is coordinated, and civilian losses are publicly acknowledged as tragic. To conclude that Israel harbors “genocidal intent” is — at best — to confuse war with genocide, and at worst, to fulfill an unstated mandate of delegitimizing Israel.
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[1] The G77, which despite its name brings together 134 countries, is the main coalition of the “Global South” at the UN, where it almost always votes as a bloc against Israel.
[2] July 25, 2022 on the Mondoweiss website
[3] Press conference in New York in November 2024
[4] Article II of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
[5] “We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly” October 9, 2023
[6] Press conference on October 28, 2023
