By Mark DaCosta- Amnesty International’s report, released on December, unequivocally accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This claim is built upon detailed, first-hand research and data gathered from interviews with 212 people, including victims, healthcare workers, and Palestinian authorities, as well as satellite imagery and public statements by Israeli officials. The report, which covers the period from October 7, 2023, to July 2024, is a critical examination of Israel’s military actions following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel.
Genocide, as defined by the 1948 Genocide Convention, involves acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. The report argues that Israel’s actions in Gaza fit this definition through systematic killings, causing harm, and inflicting conditions deliberately designed to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians. Amnesty’s Secretary-General, Agnès Callamard, explains the scale of the atrocities: “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.”
The report highlights the devastating impact of Israel’s military offensive, which followed the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. These actions have resulted in the deaths of over 42,000 Palestinians, including more than 13,000 children, and left more than 97,000 injured. The destruction, described as unprecedented in the 21st century, has levelled entire cities, destroyed vital infrastructure, and rendered vast swathes of Gaza uninhabitable. Key sites, including hospitals, water sanitation facilities, and agricultural lands, have been obliterated, exacerbating the dire humanitarian crisis.
Amnesty International identifies three central actions that demonstrate Israel’s genocidal intent: the repeated, indiscriminate air strikes on civilians; the systematic destruction of critical infrastructure; and the imposition of conditions in Gaza calculated to ensure Palestinians’ destruction over time. The use of “evacuation” orders to forcibly displaced nearly 1.9 million people — around 90 percent of Gaza’s population — only compounded the suffering. These populations were moved from one overcrowded, unsafe area to another, often multiple times.
One of the most harrowing aspects of the report is the description of the conditions Palestinians have been forced to endure. The deprivation of basic necessities such as clean water, food, and medical supplies, combined with the brutal bombardment, has left survivors to suffer under an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis.
“It’s like an apocalypse,” said one displaced individual from Gaza. Incommunicado detention, torture, and mass displacement are widespread. Additionally, the destruction of homes and displacement into camps of appalling conditions, without any possibility of returning home, further supports the conclusion that Israel’s actions have been intended to destroy the Palestinians as a group.
The report also notes the deeply troubling role of Israeli rhetoric in advancing the campaign of destruction. Statements from senior Israeli officials, including high-ranking members of the military and government, are cited as evidence of genocidal intent. Among the most disturbing were calls for the destruction of entire neighbourhoods and the explicit dehumanisation of Palestinians. Amnesty examined 102 statements made between October 7, 2023, and June 30, 2024, with 22 of these promoting or justifying genocidal acts.
Amnesty also scrutinised Israel’s official narrative, which framed the military campaign as an effort to dismantle Hamas’ infrastructure. However, Amnesty’s analysis shows that many of the air strikes that caused mass civilian casualties were directed at non-military targets. In one instance, an Israeli air strike on April 20, 2024, destroyed the Abdelal family’s home in Rafah, killing three generations, including 16 children, while they were sleeping. This pattern of direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects fits the criteria for genocide, as outlined in the Convention.
The legal response to these allegations is intensifying. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICC’s action marks a significant development in the pursuit of justice for the victims of Israel’s military actions. Amnesty International, which has been pushing for the ICC to investigate genocide as part of its ongoing case, called this an essential step in holding those responsible to account. “States must demonstrate their respect for the court’s decision and for universal international law principles by arresting and handing over those wanted by the ICC,” said Callamard.
Amnesty’s report has raised alarms on the international stage, with the global community now urged to take concrete action to stop Israel’s actions in Gaza. Callamard is particularly critical of those nations that continue to provide arms to Israel, arguing that such transfers constitute complicity in the genocide. She urges all states, particularly those with influence over Israel, including the United States and European Union members, to take immediate action to halt the violence and end the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
While Israel has denied the allegations, calling them “biased and false,” the facts, as presented by Amnesty International, paint a devastating picture of intent to destroy an entire population. Israel’s narrative, which frames its military operations as self-defence against Hamas, does not hold up under scrutiny, given the scale of the destruction and the repeated, deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure.
The scale of the violence and suffering in Gaza, coupled with the explicit genocidal statements and the international legal proceedings now unfolding, provide strong evidence that Israel’s actions amount to genocide.
In the context of our nation, Guyana, it is critical that we closely monitor the situation, advocate for the rights of the oppressed, and hold accountable those responsible for such crimes. The moral weight of these actions calls on all nations to reflect on their obligations under international law and stand against such atrocities. The time for inaction has passed.
