Pressure is mounting on the international community to take action after a UN commission of inquiry announced on Tuesday that Israel is carrying out genocide in Gaza.
This inquiry’s findings coincided with Israeli forces announcing a ground offensive into Gaza City, calling it a “new phase of the operation”. Heavy air strikes have been widely reported in the city.
“Gaza is burning,” Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz posted on X. “The IDF is striking with an iron fist at the terrorist infrastructure ... We will ... not relent and we will not back down – until the mission is completed.”
A humanitarian worker inside Gaza, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said mass displacement continues and there is a “real sense of panic”.
RM Block
The UN commission’s 72-page report concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces have committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 genocide convention: killing; causing serious bodily or mental harm; deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent births.
These were backed up by explicit statements by Israeli authorities and a pattern of conduct indicating genocidal intent, said the commission, which was established by the UN Human Rights Council.
Israel’s foreign ministry “categorically reject[ed] this distorted and false report”, calling its authors “Hamas proxies, notorious for their openly anti-Semitic positions”.
The commission – which does not speak for the UN – also highlighted an obligation on all states “to take all necessary steps to try to avoid or stop the commission of genocide”, a duty that arises the “instant that the state learns of, or should normally have learned of, the existence of a serious risk that genocide will be committed”.
“The international community cannot stay silent,” said Navi Pillay, the commission’s chairperson. “Every day of inaction costs lives and erodes the credibility of the international community.”
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs did not respond to an inquiry about whether Ireland will be taking specific steps as a result. President Michael D Higgins called the report “very, very important” and suggested excluding Israel from the UN, as well as the countries that supply it with weapons.
Nearly two years after Israel’s assault on Gaza began, following the Hamas-led attacks of October 7th, 2023, Gazan health authorities say the death toll has almost reached 65,000, with 165,312 people injured. On Tuesday, 59 new deaths were recorded. There were three reported deaths due to starvation and malnutrition, including one child.
In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a globally recognised food insecurity monitoring organisation, declared that an “entirely man-made” famine is taking place in Gaza.
Last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. The charges – which they have denied – include using starvation as a method of warfare.
The latest developments come as a civilian effort called the Global Sumud Flotilla, comprising dozens of vessels, is sailing towards the besieged enclave, with organisers saying they aim to open a humanitarian corridor.
On Tuesday, foreign ministers from 16 countries with nationals taking part in the flotilla, including Ireland, released a statement warning that “any violation of international law and human rights of the participants in the flotilla, including attacks against the vessels in international waters or illegal detention, will lead to accountability”.
Speaking from off the coast of Italy, Irish activist Catríona Graham said she was taking part because Government inaction “means we feel complicit and without another choice”.
“The time for accountability has long since passed ... We sail because our governments haven’t,” she said.
