Israel is committing genocide in Gaza: UN investigators

A 72-page report by the United Nations (UN) commission of inquiry has concluded that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The report's release drew a reaction from Singapore's former president Halimah Yacob on her social media, simply stating "its finally out" and sharing screenshots of an article on the subject.

The report

The report, released on Sep. 16, states that Israeli authorities and security forces have committed four out of the five genocidal acts listed under the 1948 Genocide Convention since the start of the conflict on Oct. 7, 2023, according to BBC.

According to the convention, "genocide means...acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".

The four acts Israel is said to have violated are:

• Killing members of the group;
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
• Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.

The fourth act was in relation to a December 2023 attack on Gaza's largest fertility clinic, which reportedly destroyed around 4,000 embryos, 1,000 sperm samples, and unfertilised eggs.

Evidence used

Statements by Israeli leaders and the pattern of conduct by Israeli forces were among the evidence used in the report.

It called out Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed in 2023 to inflict "mighty vengeance" on operative zones of Hamas members and called Gaza a "wicked city".

Israel's President Isaac Herzog was also mentioned for stating that "an entire nation" was responsible for the Oct. 7 attack.

Israel's former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, meanwhile, said Israel was "fighting human animals, and we act accordingly".

"Genocidal intent was the only reasonable inference," the commission concluded.

"It took us two years to gather all the actions and make factual findings, verify whether that had happened... It's only the facts that will direct you. And you can only bring it under the Genocide Convention if those acts were done with this intention," Navi Pillay, a member of the commission, said.

Genocide

The latest slate of the war, which has just crossed its 100-week mark, began on Oct. 7 after a Hamas attack on Israel.

Nearly 65,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since, according to figures by Gaza's health ministry.

The recent report is said to be "the strongest and most authoritative UN finding to date" on the war.

Previously, the commission had concluded that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes and other major violations of international law on Oct. 7, and that Israeli security forces had committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, the BBC said.

The commission added that all other countries are obligated under the Genocide Convention to "prevent and punish the crime of genocide", or be seen as complicit.

Israel rejects report

Israel has vehemently rejected the report, calling it "distorted and false" and accusing the commission's three members of being "Hamas proxies".

Its leaders have repeatedly justified its actions as "self-defence", in a bid to defeat Hamas and ensure the release of Israeli hostages.

They have also insisted that their actions were in accordance with international laws and mitigated harm to civilians.

Halimah reacts

Singapore's former president Halimah Yacob reacted to the news by reposting the BBC article on Facebook, captioning it, "It's finally out."

She has long been vocal in condemning Israel's actions and repeatedly urged Singaporeans not to forget the Gaza crisis amidst other global conflicts.

She previously called the military operations against Palestinians "chilling" and "disturbing" and has said that the world needs to recognise the Palestinian state on their behalf.

Singapore supports the two-state solution, as has been confirmed by multiple leaders, including Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

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Top images via Reuters & Halimah Yacob/Facebook