UN Commission Accuses Israel of Ongoing Gaza Genocide
A new report details 74,000 deaths and encroaching borders since the 2023 ceasefire, prompting Israeli officials to label the findings a misinformation campaign.
By Camille Laurent ·
The United Nations has released a new assessment of the conflict in the Middle East. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory states that Israel continued genocidal acts in Gaza after the U.S. brokered a ceasefire last October.
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people. Israel launched a military assault in response. Palestinian authorities report that more than 74,000 people have died in Gaza since that start date. The current report covers the period from October 2023 through September 2026.
Commission Chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said the killing of civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank are part of a strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians. The report notes that the number of Palestinians killed in West Bank airstrikes rose from six in the 15 years prior to 2023 to 254 between October 2023 and September 2026.
Military operations in the West Bank starting in January 2025 displaced a large number of residents. As of August 2026, 34,176 Palestinians remained displaced. The commission identified this as the largest displacement in the West Bank since 1967.
In Gaza, the report says Israeli forces used heavy munitions, drones, artillery, and sniper fire in dense areas during the ceasefire. It describes the Yellow Line, a temporary demarcation, as encroaching into Gaza and becoming a de facto border. This shift reflects expanding Israeli territorial control.
The commission also documented six cases of sexual violence by Israeli guards against male detainees from Gaza at the Sde Teiman military prison. It accused soldiers and prison guards of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank, including torture and persecution.
Israel rejected the findings. Ambassador Daniel Meron, speaking for the Israeli mission in Geneva, called the report part of a misinformation campaign. He said the commission seeks to undermine Israel's legitimacy and deny its right to defend itself. The commission also criticized the Palestinian Authority for targeting dissenters and for incidents where journalists and human rights defenders were killed or injured.
Source: CBC News
