Throughout Israel’s long two-year war with Hamas, accusations of “genocide” have been loosely tossed at Israel from many sources, including United Nations officials and prominent world leaders. One recent example was the resolution of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), which turned out to be a shameful, secretive attempt by a small clique of antisemites within the organisation to dupe the world on false academic pretences. This carefree use of the charge of genocide against the Jewish state threatens to undermine the valued safeguards established in international law against this greatest of crimes, and also reveals the duplicitous motives of those who seek to malign Israel.

Genocide is rightly called the “crime of crimes.” It is defined in the UN’s Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) as acts committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.” The central requirement is specific intent (dolus specialis) to eradicate a protected group simply for who they are.

This definition was formulated in the aftermath of the Holocaust, when the Nazi regime sought the systematic extermination of the Jewish people in Europe. Since then, it has been legally applied to such horrific tragedies as the widespread massacres in Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. Thus, the legal concept of genocide is deliberately defined in precise, narrow terms to shield it from frivolous or politicized abuse.

Yet in our day, we increasingly see “genocide” charges routinely brandished as a rhetorical weapon in global discourse, especially against Israel. This dilution of the core meaning of genocide is an affront to both history and the true victims of this heinous crime.

For the Jewish people, accusations of genocide against Israel carry an even deeper, double meaning. These charges are not only patently false, they are a painful inversion of Jewish suffering in the Holocaust, trivialising that immense catastrophe while in the same breath turning Israelis into the Nazis.

For the following reasons, we have concluded that the charge of genocide in Gaza does not apply to Israel:

1. Absence of Specific Genocidal Intent:  The Genocide Convention of 1948 requires clear intent to destroy a people. There is no credible evidence which demonstrates that Israel seeks to eradicate all Gazans, but rather their intent is to defeat the banned terror militia Hamas, which ignited the current conflict by carrying out the widespread massacre of Israelis and abducting hostages on October 7, 2023.
2. The War Stops when Hostages are Released:  Israel has made clear that the war could end tomorrow if Hamas releases the remaining Israeli hostages, agrees to disarm, and relinquishes control of Gaza. Genocides do not end with such overtures for peace.
3. IDF Warning Civilians Before Strikes and Facilitated Evacuations:  The Israeli military has consistently issued warning messages before targeted strikes – such as through SMS texts, phone calls, air-dropped flyers, and online social media platforms – and has facilitated civilian evacuations. This is incompatible with a genocide campaign.
4. Role of International Community in Confining Gazans to Battlefield:  The rising death toll in Gaza is troubling to everyone, but it cannot all be laid at the feet of Israel. In fact, the international community bears some responsibility for this situation by overwhelmingly insisting that all Palestinian civilians in Gaza had to remain on the battlefield, rather than being allowed to evacuate to safety. This was an unprecedented act in the history of modern warfare and only complicated Israel’s efforts to confront and defeat Hamas, whose own deliberate strategy is to exploit the population of Gaza as human shields.
5. Medical Aid and Child Evacuations Abroad:  Israel has coordinated the evacuation of hundreds of Palestinian children with severe illnesses to receive treatment in Abu Dhabi, Italy and elsewhere – evidence of humanitarian concern, not destruction.
6. Scale and Methodology Not Indicative of Destruction Objectives:  Civilian casualties are tragic, but Israel’s methods – precision strikes, advance warnings – stand in stark contrast to the indiscriminate extermination that defines genocide.
7. Complex Legal Status and Pending ICJ Case:  The International Court of Justice is currently deliberating the charge of genocide against Israel and so far has only ordered Israel to prevent the possibility of genocide as a provisional measure. This was not a final ruling, and the case is still pending.
8. Key Government Findings and Emerging Scholarly Rebuttals:  Certain governments, including the United Kingdom, have carefully weighed the evidence and reached the conclusion that Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza. Further, independent studies dispute the genocide charges by exposing flawed casualty data and a lack of evidence for systematic targeting policies.
9. Israel Facilitates Food and Aid Deliveries: Far from starving Gazans, Israel has coordinated massive relief flows. Since October 7, an average of 300-320 aid trucks per day have entered Gaza via Israeli crossing, carrying food, medicine and supplies. More recently, the Israeli-American run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been distributing 1.2 million meals daily. Israel also has enabled water and power connections for Gaza’s main water desalination plant. Such actions, again, are incompatible with genocidal intent.
10. Gazan Population Not Shrinking: Despite thousands of deaths, Gaza’s overall population has not decreased since October 7, with tens of thousands of children born during the war. This demographic reality contradicts claims of an extermination campaign.

Unlike Israel, Hamas has Clear Genocidal Intent
By contrast, Hamas not only exhibits genocidal behaviour, but they openly proclaim their genocidal intent. The Hamas Charter accuses the Jewish people of seeking to control the world, which they see as the rightful destiny of Muslims only, and thus the Jews are viewed as an implacable enemy. The Hamas Charter also still affirms in its Arabic version that it is their religious duty to destroy the Jewish people due to the perpetual war which exists between Muslims and Jews until Judgment Day. In fact, the Charter expressly recites the early Islamic hadith (tradition) declaring this vanquishing of the Jews as a prerequisite for the end of days. Hamas actually views the October 7 massacres as a partial fulfilment of this hadith. Therefore, Hamas officials have vowed to repeat these attacks over and over again – a threat that must be seen in light of this dark apocalyptic vision.

The atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, including rapes, murders, torture and abductions, flow from a genocidal ideology. In addition, their strategy of using Palestinian civilians as human shields reveals how deeply Hamas has embraced a culture of death, even sacrificing their own people to advance their diabolical cause.

Conclusion
The chorus of charges that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza collapses under careful, objective scrutiny. In truth, this is but another in the long litany of blood libels against the Jewish state and people. The war in Gaza is very intense, complicated and stressful for everyone involved, especially with the presence of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in a vast terror tunnel network. But by issuing warnings before strikes, facilitating humanitarian aid, and offering peace in exchange for the release of hostages, Israel’s conduct is incompatible with genocidal intent. These facts stand in stark contrast to Hamas, whose founding charter, rhetoric and actions openly aim for the annihilation of the Jewish people.

The global community must acknowledge this stark reality, rather than confuse the victims with the aggressors, and must confront the deliberate genocide campaign instigated by Hamas.

Photo: IDF soldiers bring home Israeli hostage Andrey Kozlov rescused from central Gaza in 2024 (Credit-Ilia Yefimovich-picture-alliance-dpa-AP Images)