Gambiaj.com – (LONDON, United Kingdom) – Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the conflict last year, urging the international community to take immediate action. In a 300-page report, Amnesty International says Israel has “unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously, and with total impunity.”

The London-based human rights organization said its findings were based on “dehumanizing and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials,” satellite imagery showing widespread devastation, field research, and firsthand accounts from Gazans.

“Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” Amnesty’s Secretary General, Agnes Callamard, stated.

“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now,” she added.

The conflict escalated on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack in southern Israel, prompting a deadly Israeli military offensive in Gaza. Israeli officials vowed to dismantle Hamas following the attack, which killed 1,208 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

Since then, at least 44,532 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which the UN considers a reliable source.

“There is absolutely no doubt that Israel has military objectives. But the existence of military objectives does not negate the possibility of genocidal intent,” Callamard said at a press conference in The Hague, referencing the findings based on criteria outlined in the UN Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.

Israel has consistently denied allegations of genocide, accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields.

However, Amnesty’s 300-page report details “direct, deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure where there was no Hamas presence or military objectives, the use of heavy explosive weapons with wide destruction radius in densely populated areas,” restrictions on aid, and the displacement of 90% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.

‘Erasure’ of Gaza

In the aftermath of the October 7 attack, Israel imposed a “total siege” on Gaza with the slogan: “No electricity, no water, no gas.” Limited supplies have trickled in since.

According to Amnesty, this blockade has subjected Palestinians to “malnutrition, hunger, and diseases,” exposing them to a “slow, calculated death.”

The damning report highlighted 15 airstrikes between October 7, 2023, and April 20, 2024, that killed 334 civilians, including 141 children, with “no evidence” that these strikes targeted military objectives.

It also documented statements by Israeli officials and soldiers calling for the annihilation, destruction, and “erasure” of Gaza, which Amnesty said reflect systemic impunity and an emboldened environment for such actions.

“Governments must stop pretending they are powerless to end Israel’s occupation, dismantle apartheid, and prevent genocide in Gaza,” Callamard emphasized.

She also warned that states supplying arms to Israel could be violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention and risk becoming complicit in the atrocities.

Amnesty plans to publish a separate report on crimes committed by Hamas.