Gaza genocide

The Gaza genocide is the ongoing, intentional, and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip carried out by Israel during the Gaza war. It encompasses mass killings, deliberate starvation, infliction of serious bodily and mental harm, and preventing births. Other acts include blockading, destroying civilian infrastructure, destroying healthcare facilities, killing healthcare workers and aid-seekers, causing mass forced displacement, committing sexual violence, and destroying educational, religious, and cultural sites. The genocide has been recognised by a United Nations special committee and commission of inquiry, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, multiple human rights groups, numerous genocide studies and international law scholars, and other experts.

By October 2025, the Gaza Health Ministry had reported that at least 66,148 people in Gaza had been killed. Most of the victims are civilians, of whom at least 50% are women and children. Compared to other recent global conflicts, the numbers of known deaths of journalists, humanitarian and health workers, and children are among the highest. Thousands more uncounted dead bodies are thought to be under the rubble of destroyed buildings. A study in The Lancet estimated that traumatic injury deaths were undercounted by June 2024, while noting a larger potential death toll when "indirect" deaths are included. The number of injured is greater than 170,000. Gaza has the most child amputees per capita in the world; the Gaza war has caused disabilities for more than 21,000 children.

An Israeli blockade has heavily contributed to ongoing starvation and confirmed famine. As of August 2025, projections show 100% of the population is experiencing "high levels of acute food insecurity", with about 641,000 people experiencing catastrophic levels. Early in the conflict, Israel cut off Gaza's water and electricity, but it later partially restored the water. As of May 2024, 84% of Gaza's health centres have been destroyed or damaged. Israel has also destroyed numerous cultural heritage sites, including all of Gaza's 12 universities and 80% of its schools. Over 1.9 million Palestinians—85% of Gaza's population—have been forcibly displaced.

In December 2023, the government of South Africa instituted proceedings, South Africa v. Israel, against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging a violation of the Genocide Convention. In January 2024, the court ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of acts of genocide, to prevent and punish incitement to genocide, and to allow basic humanitarian service, aid and supplies into Gaza. The court later ordered Israel to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza and to halt its Rafah offensive. Israel did not fully comply with the court's orders.

Israel and its supporters deny that its actions constitute genocide. The Israeli government maintains that its military actions were a response to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel and that it sought to destroy Hamas and free Israeli hostages. There is increasing scholarly consensus on the genocide assessment, though some academics challenge it.

Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip began in 1967. In 2005, Israel withdrew its ground forces in the context of the Oslo Accords and the Second Intifada.^{[page needed]} The International Court of Justice subsequently issued an advisory opinion that despite the withdrawal Israel is still illegally occupying the Gaza Strip.

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas, an Islamist militant group, while the West Bank remained under the control of the Palestinian Authority. After Hamas took over, Israel imposed a blockade of the Gaza Strip, citing security concerns; international rights groups have called the blockade a form of collective punishment. UNRWA reported that, due to the blockade, 81% of Gazans were living below the poverty level in 2023, with 63% food insecure and dependent on international assistance. Since 2007, Israel and Hamas (and other Palestinian militias in Gaza) have engaged in conflict, including four wars in 2008–2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021.

On 7 October 2023 Hamas led an attack into Israel from Gaza, resulting in at least 1,139 deaths, most of them civilians. The attack included grave acts of violence, including sexual violence. During the attack, Palestinian militant groups abducted 251 people from Israel to the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with a highly destructive bombing campaign followed by an invasion of the Gaza Strip on 27 October.