Israel
Israeli officials hit back after UN inquiry says Gaza war amounts to genocide
The chair of the commission was previously accused of anti-Israel bias
September 16, 2025 08:34
The chair of the commission was previously accused of anti-Israel bias
September 16, 2025 08:34Israeli politicians have furiously hit back at findings by a UN commission of inquiry that concluded Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, calling the report ‘false and distorted.’
In a statement, Navi Pillay, chair of the UN body set up to investigate war crimes during the war, said: “It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.”
Pillay has previously been criticised for her anti-Israel bias. In 2020, she backed a petition calling for sanctions against Israel, “including a boycott on all products from the illegal settlements”, a suspension of trade deals and a military embargo.
In 2022, Campaign group UN Watch’s executive director Hillel Neuer called for her resignation. “Asking Pillay to head an inquiry examining Israel is like asking a vegetarian to review a steakhouse. We are calling on her to do the right thing and to resign immediately.”
The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories has been investigating all violence since the October 7 attacks, which saw 1200 Israelis killed and 250 taken hostage, but was originally set up to investigate Israel in 2022.
The UN commission said that it considered five "acts of genocide” and found that Israel was guilty of at least four.
Israel has been accused of:
The commission also looked at the statements of Israeli politicians to establish intent, which is necessary to fulfill the legal definition of genocide.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former defence minister Yoav Gallant were all named in the report and accused of ‘inciting the commission of genocide.”
“The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza.”
Israel “categorically” rejected the report’s findings, saying “the report relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others.
“In stark contrast to the lies in the report, Hamas is the party that attempted genocide in Israel murdering 1,200 people, raping women, burning families alive, and openly declaring its goal of killing every Jew.
“Israel categorically rejects this distorted and false report and calls for the immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry.”
The news came as the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it had started broader operations to destroy Hamas infrastructure in Gaza City.
“Gaza is burning,” said Defence Minister Israel Katz, announcing the start of the IDF operation. “The IDF strikes with an iron fist at the terror infrastructure, and IDF soldiers fight with courage to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
Colonel Avichay Adraee, the head of the Arab media division of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, subsequently confirmed on X that the army “began destroying Hamas’s infrastructure in Gaza City.”
“Gaza City is considered a dangerous combat zone, and staying in the area puts you at risk,” Adraee added, urging Palestinians to join “the more than 40% of the city’s residents” who have already evacuated.
To get more Israel news, click here to sign up for our free Israel Briefing newsletter.