Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.
The human rights group released a report on Thursday in the Middle East that said such actions could not be justified by Hamas’ October 7 2023 attack into Israel, which ignited the war, or the presence of militants in civilian areas.
Amnesty said the United States and other allies of Israel could be complicit in genocide, and called on them to halt arms shipments.
“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now,” Agnes Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, said in the report.
Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel”.
It is challenging such allegations at the International Court of Justice, and it has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister committed war crimes in Gaza.
“The deplorable and fanatical organization Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report that is entirely false and based on lies,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Israel accused Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate Israel, of carrying out a genocidal massacre in the attack that triggered the war, and said it is defending itself in accordance with international law.
Amnesty International Israel, a local branch of the organisation that was not involved in the report, also disputed the allegation of genocide, in a rare public airing of internal dissent at the rights group.
