Humanitarian Double Trouble

The prevention and punishment of genocide, as an international crime, was laid down in a UN Convention adopted in the aftermath of the Second World War. The crime of genocide generally involves the deliberate and systematic extermination of a group.

Press and Health Care Targets

Art. II of the UN Genocide Convention notes that the following acts, if committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, may constitute genocide:

1. killing members of the group;

2. causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

3. deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

4. imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

5. forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. (Genocide | How Does Law Protect in War? - Online Casebook, n.d.)

 In a blog post in November 2024  Reuters reported that Pope Francis suggests an international study into possible genocide in Gaza.

Reports in the Lancet cited in a blog post in December 2024 and Amnesty International’s research has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.

A summary of the coverage of famine in Gaza in a blog post provides insight into the cliche that truth is often the first casualty of war. (July 23, 2025).

In recent days the coverage of the conflict in Gaza has raised the question of “Was the ‘double tap’ attack on Gaza’s Nasser hospital a war crime?”

The main rules on hostilities are often said to be humanity, necessity, distinction and proportionality. Humanity is about not inflicting unnecessary suffering. Necessity requires that in applying the other rules a commander should be able to do what they need to “win”, but no more than that. Distinction requires that only lawful objectives should be targeted for attack. Proportionality requires that when a lawful objective is attacked, the expected “collateral damage” should not be excessive to the expected military advantage of the attack. (Sweeney, 2025)

Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem reports for the Guardian on the Karim Khan application for warrants relating to alleged crimes committed during the 7 October attack and the ensuing war in Gaza. The chief prosecutor of the international criminal court has said he is seeking arrest warrants for senior Hamas and Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, a move that puts the post-second world war rules-based order to the test and presents new challenges for Israel’s western allies.

He named Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief in the Gaza Strip, and Mohammed Deif, the commander of its military wing, considered to be the masterminds of the 7 October assault, as well as Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the group’s political bureau, who is based in Qatar, as wanted for crimes of extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape, sexual assault and torture.

Netanyahu and Gallant are accused of extermination, causing starvation as a method of war, the denial of humanitarian relief supplies and deliberately targeting civilians. (McKernan, n.d.)

Accusations of war crimes in the manner in which Netanyahu and the IDF are conducting the war in Gaza were given more needed attention as a result of the ‘double tap’ attack on Gaza’s Nasser hospital.

References

Genocide | How does law protect in war? - Online casebook. (n.d.). How does law protect in war? Retrieved September 2, 2025, from https://casebook.icrc.org/a_to_z/glossary/genocide 

McKernan, B. (n.d.). ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Israeli PM and Hamas officials for war crimes. the Guardian. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/law/article/2024/may/20/icc-prosecutor-seeks-arrest-warrants-israeli-pm-netanyahu-hamas-officials-war-crimes 

Sweeney, J. (2025, August 27). Was the 'double tap' attack on Gaza's Nasser hospital a war crime? Here's what the laws of war say. The Conversation. Retrieved September 2, 2025, from https://theconversation.com/was-the-double-tap-attack-on-gazas-nasser-hospital-a-war-crime-heres-what-the-laws-of-war-say-263955 

Stop the Genocide

If the IDF is killing Palestinians because they are Palestinians, that action is evidence for a charge of genocide against the State of Israel. If the IDF is ignoring their responsibility to exercise discrimination and proportionality in their attacks in Gaza then there is evidence for violation of International Humanitarian Law and charges of war crimes against those responsible for conducting the war. In recent months, the assessment of some human rights organizations and moral leaders has been leaning to accusations of genocide and war crimes at the hands of the armed forces of Israel.

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Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP via Getty Images)

Muhammad Abu Salmiya, Director of Al-Shifa Hospital, in an article with supporting references in the Lancet concludes that more than 85% of Gaza’s population have been displaced, at least 33,000 Palestinians have been killed, and 70,000 civilians have been injured.

Since the attacks by Hamas against Israel on Oct 7, 2023,1 the Israeli retaliatory strikes, bombings, and strict sieges have almost never stopped. So far, more than 85% of Gaza's population have been displaced,2 and as of April 13, 2024, at least 33 000 Palestinians have been killed (more than a third of them are children)3 and 70 000 civilians have been injured.4 Approximately 7000 Palestinians are reportedly missing—most are likely dead.3,4 This massacre has taken place in just 180 days and is still ongoing.3 Gaza has now been described as a graveyard of children by the UN.4 According to WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières, hospitals in southern Gaza are at “breaking point” while all the hospitals in northern Gaza have been destroyed and are out of service.5 There is very limited access to ambulances, electricity, and clean drinking water, and injured patients are being transferred to medical institutes by donkey carts.6 The UN announced that the number of health-care workers killed by Israeli strikes is the highest in any single conflict in the organisation's history.7 Josep Borrell, a High Representative for the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has described the destruction in Gaza as being proportionally greater than that which Germany experienced in World War 2.8

A key aspect of this war is the deliberate targeting of civilians by the Israeli military—for example, in just one investigation by Amnesty International, US-made munitions were found to be used by the Israeli military in two deadly, unlawful air strikes on homes containing civilians in Gaza.9 These air strikes were either direct attacks on civilians or civilian objects or indiscriminate attacks and Amnesty International is calling for them to be investigated as war crimes.9

(References cited above are detailed in web article) (Abu Salmiya, n.d.)

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, reports that Amnesty International’s research has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.

The report, ‘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, 2023, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity.

“Amnesty International’s 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. Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now. (Callamard, n.d.)

On 14 November 2024 the UN Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices* said in a new report that Israel’s warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, with mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians.

The report documents how Israel’s extensive bombing campaign in Gaza has decimated essential services and unleashed an environmental catastrophe that will have lasting health impacts. By early 2024, over 25,000 tons of explosives—equivalent to two nuclear bombs—had been dropped on Gaza, causing massive destruction and the collapse of water and sanitation systems, agricultural devastation, and toxic pollution.

“By destroying vital water, sanitation and food systems, and contaminating the environment, Israel has created a lethal mix of crises that will inflict severe harm on generations to come,” the Committee said. (UN Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices, n.d.)

The report raises serious concerns about Israel’s use of AI-enhanced targeting systems in directing its military operations, and the impact it has had on civilians, particularly evident in the overwhelming number of women and children among the casualties.

“The Israeli military’s use of AI-assisted targeting, with minimal human oversight, combined with heavy bombs, underscores Israel’s disregard of its obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and take adequate safeguards to prevent civilian deaths,” the Committee said. (UN Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices, n.d.)

The concerns of human rights organizations about the possibility of genocide and war crimes being committed by Israel follow similar concern that Giada Zampano from AP Rome reports that Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year. 

References

Abu Salmiya, M. (n.d.). Stop the Gaza genocide immediately. thelancet. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00135-1/fulltext 

Callamard, A. (n.d.). ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza. Amnesty International investigation concludes Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. https://amnesty.ca/gazagenocide/ 

UN Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices. (n.d.). UN Special Committee finds Israel’s warfare methods in Gaza consistent with genocide, including use of starvation as weapon of war. OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/11/un-special-committee-finds-israels-warfare-methods-gaza-consistent-genocide