ISTANBUL

Two leading Israeli human rights groups on Monday accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, citing the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and the deliberate dismantling of the territory’s healthcare system.

In a new report, B’Tselem said an examination of Israeli policies and their outcomes, alongside statements by senior officials, leads to “the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip.”

“This is a deeply painful moment for us,” B’Tselem Executive Director Yuli Novak said. “But as Israelis and Palestinians who live here and witness the reality every day, we have a duty to speak the truth as clearly as possible: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.”

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI), meanwhile, released a legal-medical analysis concluding that Israel’s ongoing military assault in Gaza “meets the criteria for genocide” under the UN Genocide Convention, warning of a deliberate policy aimed at harming Palestinians as a group.

“The evidence shows a deliberate and systematic dismantling of Gaza’s healthcare system,” said PHRI Director Dr. Guy Shalev.

“This is not incidental damage from war – it is a deliberate policy. As medical professionals, we are obligated to speak the truth: this is genocide, and we must fight it.”

The reports document widespread killing of civilians, mass displacement, starvation, and the destruction of vital infrastructure, warning that patterns of annihilation seen in Gaza are also being replicated in the occupied West Bank on a smaller scale.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that 14 more Palestinians, including two children, died in the past 24 hours from hunger and malnutrition caused by Israel’s blockade. This raised the total number of starvation-related deaths since Oct. 7, 2023, to 147, including 88 children.

The Government Media Office in Gaza also warned that over 40,000 Palestinian infants face the risk of death as Israel continues to block the entry of baby formula.

Both Israeli organizations harshly criticized the international community, saying Western governments are complicit through either active support or silence.

“Any leader that is not doing whatever they can to stop it is part of this horror,” Novak said.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.