\n Rights groups B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel said on Monday that they had concluded the war in Gaza amounts to a \"genocide\" against Palestinians, a first for Israeli NGOs.\n<\/p>\n
\n Both organisations are frequent critics of Israeli government policies, but the language in their reports issued on Monday was their most stark yet.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Nothing prepares you for the realisation that you are part of a society committing genocide. This is a deeply painful moment for us,\" B'Tselem executive director Yuli Novak told a news conference unveiling the two reports.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"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,\" she said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n A spokesman from the Israeli prime minister's office, David Mencer, denounced the allegation.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We have free speech here in Israel but we strongly reject the accusation,\" he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Our defence forces target terrorists and never civilians. Hamas is responsible for the suffering in Gaza.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Israel's war in Gaza for the past 21 months began in response to an unprecedented attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Israeli assault has left much of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians, in ruins, and according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry has killed at least 59,921 people, most of them civilians.\n<\/p>\n
\n All Gazans have been driven from their homes at least once since the start of the war, and UN agencies warn that residents face a growing threat of famine and malnutrition.\n<\/p>\n
\n The International Court of Justice, in an interim ruling in early 2024 in a case lodged by South Africa, found it \"plausible\" that the Israeli offensive had violated the UN Genocide Convention.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Israeli government, backed by the United States, fiercely denies the charge and says it is fighting to defeat Hamas and to bring back Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.\n<\/p>\n
\n The reports from B'Tselem -- one of Israel's best-known rights groups -- and Physicians for Human Rights Israel argue that the war's objectives go further.\n<\/p>\n
\n B'Tselem's report cites statements from senior politicians to illustrate that Israel \"is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Physicians for Human Rights Israel's report documents what the group says is \"the deliberate and systematic destruction of Gaza's healthcare system\".<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rights groups B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel said on Monday that they had concluded the war in Gaza amounts to a \"genocide\" against Palestinians, a first for Israeli NGOs. Both organisations are frequent critics of Israeli government policies, but the language in their reports issued on Monday was their most stark yet. \"Nothing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-148407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n