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A United Nations commission of inquiry has now said what Israeli, Palestinian and international human rights organisations, as well as many genocide scholars, have already argued: that Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide. The commission finds that mass killings, attacks on vital infrastructure, starvation, displacement and denial of medical care meet the legal definition of history’s gravest crime. It finds genocidal intent “the only reasonable inference” from both the statements of Israel’s leaders and the conduct of its forces in Gaza.
Against this, Israel’s repeated assertions that it is acting in lawful self-defence ring hollow in the face of overwhelming evidence and a deliberate pattern of destruction. The UN’s conclusion imposes moral clarity. It also demands political action, especially from those, including the UK and the US, who have for too long treated Israel as an exception to international norms.
Historically, the Guardian supported Jewish aspirations for a homeland, playing a significant role in the early Zionist movement – particularly as antisemitism rose in Europe. That history only adds weight to our present concern over where the country is going. Other states must reckon with the consequences of enabling a far-right government under Benjamin Netanyahu that has defied international law with impunity and pursued its aims with horrifying human cost.
It is no defence to point to Hamas atrocities, appalling as they were, to justify the systematic devastation of Gaza, home to over 2 million people, half of them children. The notion that the flattening of Gaza will bring peace is for the birds. Reportedly, Israel’s military chiefs have privately conceded that Hamas may not be defeated even after Gaza City falls – and that a “complete victory” may require further military expansion in the strip. If accurate, this implies that Israel’s leaders foresee the failure of stated war aims – and are preparing for even greater devastation.
Mr Netanyahu, perhaps recognising the consequences, has warned Israelis to prepare for “isolation” and a new era in which traditional European support may no longer be guaranteed. This shift shouldn’t be underestimated. European powers, including Britain, have long underwritten Israel’s technological and military edge – through arms exports, trade agreements and research funding. The EU’s Horizon programme is only one of many economic levers at Europe’s disposal. Suspension of such links would have profound repercussions, as would recognising a Palestinian state.
The British government’s response has been evasive. Ministers said the UK had “not concluded” that Israel is acting with genocidal intent. That now looks like little more than a fig leaf. A court case revealed the Foreign Office reviewed over 400 alleged violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces in Gaza but identified possible wrongdoing in only one. The apparent logic is: ignore enough individual incidents, and you won’t see the pattern.
But the UN says the reality cannot be denied. Under the genocide convention, states must not only punish genocide but prevent it. That threshold has been crossed. To continue with symbolic sanctions is not just morally indefensible – it is complicity. Some will warn against inflammatory language. But Gaza is already burning. Britain must stop all arms sales, back international accountability and drop the legal contortions. The charge is grave. The evidence is overwhelming. To pretend otherwise is to join in with our age’s most shameful evasions.
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