ISRAEL is committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, Amnesty International confirms in a damning report published today.

The human rights group says that a deadly mixture of malnutrition and disease has exposed Palestinians to a slow, calculated death and that the destruction in Gaza has been at a level and speed not seen in any other conflict of the 21st century.

Taken with the broader picture of Israel’s military campaign and the cumulative impact of its policies and acts, the only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn is that Israel is demonstrating genocidal intent, the report says. 

The 295-page report, titled: “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman”: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, documents how, during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7 last year, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza “brazenly, continuously and with total impunity.”

Over the past two months, the crisis has grown particularly acute in the North Gaza governorate, where the besieged population is facing starvation, displacement and annihilation amid relentless bombardment and suffocating restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid.

Mohammed, who fled with his family from Gaza City to Rafah in March and was displaced again in May, told Amnesty: “Here in Deir al-Balah, it’s like an apocalypse. 

“You have to protect your children from insects, from the heat, and there is no clean water, no toilets, all while the bombing never stops. You feel like you are subhuman here.”

Amnesty International secretary-general Agnes Callamard said the “report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

“These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.

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

Ms Callamard also warned states that continue to transfer arms to Israel that they may be “violating their obligation to prevent genocide and are at risk of becoming complicit in genocide.”

She welcomed the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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,” Ms Callamard insisted.