Israel’s war methods ‘fit the hallmarks of genocide’, UN committee says

The methods of warfare used by Israel in the Gaza Strip “correspond to the characteristics of a genocide”affirmed this Thursday, November 14, a Special UN Committee responsible for investigating Israeli practices. The Committee highlights the “Massive civilian casualties and conditions imposed on Palestinians there intentionally endangering their lives”in a report to be presented Monday to the UN General Assembly in New York.

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Created in 1968 by the UN General Assembly, this committee is responsible for investigating Israeli practices affecting human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. In a new report, she looked at the period from the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel until last July.

“Through its siege of Gaza, its obstruction of humanitarian aid, its targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated appeals from the UN, binding orders from the International Court of Justice and resolutions Security Council, Israel intentionally causes death, starvation and serious injury”indicates the committee in a press release. Israel “uses starvation as a method of war and inflicts collective punishment on the Palestinian population”adds the committee.

“Israel has created a deadly mix of crises”

The report shows how Israel’s extensive bombing campaign in Gaza has decimated essential services and triggered an environmental catastrophe with lasting health effects. Until February, Israeli forces had used more than 25,000 tons of explosives in the Gaza Strip, “the equivalent of two nuclear bombs”or about almost twice the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, the report points out.

“By destroying vital water, sanitation and food systems, and contaminating the environment, Israel has created a deadly mix of crises that will inflict grave harm on generations to come.”denounces the committee. He also declares himself “deeply alarmed by the unprecedented destruction of civilian infrastructure and the high number of deaths in Gaza”where more than 43,700 people have died since the start of the war, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.

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The staggering death toll raises serious concerns about Israel’s use of artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced targeting systems, the committee said. “The Israeli military’s use of AI-assisted targeting systems, with minimal human supervision, combined with heavy bombs, highlights Israel’s disregard for its obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and to take adequate protective measures to avoid civilian deaths”the report says.

The committee is particularly concerned about reports of new guidelines lowering target selection criteria, which appears to have allowed the military to use AI systems to “rapidly generate tens of thousands of targets, as well as track targets to their homes, particularly at night when families shelter together”.