Amnesty International claims Israel has committed and continues to carry out acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in the occupied Gaza Strip.
In a 300-page report, the NGO said it investigated Israel's military acts in Gaza and considered the immediate and cumulative impacts on the Palestinian population.
The research, over a nine-month period from October 7, 2023, to July 2024, examined audio-visual evidence, satellite imagery and included interviews with 212 people, including victims and survivors of air strikes and torture, and humanitarian aid workers.
Amnesty International said it tried to contact Israeli authorities throughout its investigation and had put all of its allegations to the Israeli government but hadn't received a response.
Israel has consistently and strenuously denied allegations it is conducting a genocide in Gaza.
Israel's government says it aims to destroy Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organisation in Australia. But Amnesty International secretary-general Agnes Callamard said that "cannot justify certain kinds of actions".
"The Palestinians of Gaza have been held in a nightmare, day after day, utter carnage has unfolded in front of the very eyes of the world and there is no end in sight," Dr Callamard said.
"Palestinians have been bombed, starved and repeatedly displaced. Israel's actions have wiped out entire multi-generational families — they have destroyed Palestinian homes and livelihood."
The report claims to have found that Israel has committed three breaches of the Genocide Convention against the Palestinian people:
- An intent to destroy them
- Killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm to them
- Inflicting conditions which intend to lead to their destruction over time
Dr Callamard said the organisation had determined there was a "clear intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza".
"Military objectives can exist with genocidal intent and the military objective of destruction of Hamas does not justify, excuse in any way, or make permissible the genocide of the Palestinians of Gaza," she said.
The report disputes Israel's claims that its military lawfully targeted Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza and alleges that Israel caused unprecedented destruction of infrastructure and denied aid to the civilian population.
Amnesty International said it reviewed 102 statements that were issued by the Israeli government and military officials, which it claims called for or justified genocidal acts or other crimes against Palestinian people.
The research also examined 15 air strikes between October 7, 2023, and April 20, 2024, that killed 334 civilians, including 141 children.
It said it found no evidence that any of these strikes were directed at a military objective.
Israel has consistently said it is targeting Hamas operatives which are hiding among the civilian population. Hamas has always denied Israel's claim.
In a statement to the ABC, spokesperson for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oren Maramostein, dismissed the report.
"The deplorable and fanatical organisation Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report that is entirely false and based on lies," Mr Maramostein said.
"The genocidal massacre on October 7, 2023, was carried out by the Hamas terrorist organisation against Israeli citizens. Since then, Israeli citizens have been subjected to daily attacks from seven different fronts.
"Israel is defending itself against these attacks acting fully in accordance with international law."
Amnesty says it has also made detailed findings about crimes perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in the context of their attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which will be outlined in a separate report.
It's also calling for sanctions against both Israeli and Hamas officials implicated in war crimes, and for the Palestinian authorities to investigate and prosecute war crimes and human rights violations by Palestinian armed groups.
What is genocide?
The Genocide Convention defines genocide as any of the five acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
These five acts include killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, imposing living conditions intended to destroy the group.
Proving genocidal intent is notoriously difficult if the party accused doesn't explicitly admit to genocide.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and one of the last remaining Hamas leaders, Mohammed Deif, who might already be dead.
The warrants for the Israeli leaders were issued for crimes against humanity and war crimes that the court found reasonable grounds to believe they bore criminal responsibility for.
In May, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that if Israel didn't halt its offensive in Rafah, deliver adequate humanitarian aid, and punish statements inciting genocide by some members of its government, there was a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza.
South Africa brought the case to the ICJ in December 2023, accusing Israel of genocide, alleging indiscriminate killing of civilians, impeding the flow of aid, the risk of famine, and the displacement of a majority of the Gazan population.
Israel denies the claims and the court did not conclude that genocide was occurring or that Israel's war was illegal.
In July, the ICJ ruled that Israel's occupation of the Palestinian Occupied Territory, including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem is illegal.
It ordered all settlers to evacuate immediately, stop new settlements from being built and pay reparations to Palestinian people.
The ICJ can make legally binding rulings in disputes between countries but has little power to enforce its orders.
Australia changes position to back UN motion
At this week's United Nations General Assembly, Australia changed its position to back a resolution demanding Israel bring an end to its unlawful presence in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The resolution calls for an end to all new settlement activities and for settlers to be removed from occupied territory.
157 nations voted in favour of the resolution, with seven abstentions and eight nations, including the United States and Israel, voting against it.
Australia has also changed its position, from no to abstention, on another resolution concerning Palestinian representation at the UN.
Israel launched its campaign in the densely populated enclave after a Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israeli communities across the border on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 44,502, with 105,454 others injured, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement released on Tuesday.
