Leading Scholars Declare Genocide in Gaza

An increasing number of prominent genocide scholars and human rights organizations, including two Israeli groups, now claim that genocide is unfolding in Gaza — a charge fiercely denied by Israeli officials who maintain that their actions are in self-defense following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.

New reports released by B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel argue that Israel’s conduct and the language used by its leadership demonstrate “deliberate intent” to target Gaza’s population, not just Hamas fighters. These assessments align with similar warnings issued over the past 21 months by international rights groups, UN officials, and academic experts.

Since the war began, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities. Israeli military strikes have razed much of Gaza’s infrastructure and repeatedly displaced civilians through evacuation orders and bombardments. UN monitors report widespread starvation and rising hunger-related deaths due to the blockade and restricted aid access.

Genocide Accusation Gains Ground

The term “genocide” — defined by the 1948 UN Convention as acts intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group — is now being used by a growing chorus of experts. Among them are:

• Omer Bartov, Holocaust historian at Brown University, who noted that Israel's actions have escalated into systematic destruction of Gaza’s capacity to survive post-war.
• Melanie O’Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, who stated that the situation “fits within legal definitions of genocide.”
• Raz Segal, an Israeli Holocaust scholar, who described it as a “textbook case of genocide” shortly after October 7 and insists no credible scholar disputes that claim now.

In their reports, Israeli rights groups cited Israeli leaders’ rhetoric promoting denial of food and water to civilians and advocating ethnic cleansing. B’Tselem director Yuli Novak said, “Every genocide in history has had a justification in the eyes of those who committed it.”

Denials and Accusations of Antisemitism

Israel’s government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has categorically rejected the genocide label, calling it a “blood libel.” Israeli officials argue that their military actions are necessary and lawful responses to the Hamas-led massacre and hostage-taking.

Some scholars like Norman Goda and Jeffrey Herf argue the genocide charge feeds into antisemitic narratives. But others in Israel itself, such as Holocaust scholars Daniel Blatman and Amos Goldberg, contend that the war will leave a lasting stain on Jewish history.

“This genocide … will stain Jewish history from now on and forever,” they wrote in Haaretz.

Martin Shaw, author of What Is Genocide?, noted that even cautious observers are abandoning their reluctance to use the term: “The dam of interpretive genocide denial has well and truly broken.”