A significant majority of members in the world’s foremost association of scholars specializing in genocide studies have endorsed a resolution asserting that Israel’s conduct in Gaza aligns with the legal criteria for genocide.
Eighty-six percent of voting members in the 500-strong International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) supported the motion. The resolution declares that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza fulfill the legal definition of genocide under Article II of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948).”
The three-page resolution calls on Israel to “halt all actions that constitute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza, including intentional attacks on civilians, including children; the withholding of food, medical aid, water, fuel, and other necessities; sexual and reproductive violence; and the forced displacement of the population.”
It further states that the IAGS acknowledges that “since the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, which itself involved international crimes,” Israel’s government has carried out systematic and widespread crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide, targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, such as hospitals, homes, and commercial buildings in Gaza.
Melanie O’Brien, president of the IAGS and a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, described the resolution as “a conclusive assessment by experts in genocide studies that the situation in Gaza meets the definition of genocide.”
Established in 1994, the IAGS includes academics, historians, political scientists, and human rights activists. The association has previously issued resolutions recognizing genocides, including historical cases like the Armenian genocide.
The 1948 UN Convention, created after the Holocaust, defines genocide as acts intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. It requires signatory states to take action to prevent and stop such crimes, which may involve killing group members, causing severe harm, imposing life-threatening conditions, preventing births, or forcibly relocating children.
Israeli authorities have not yet responded to the resolution.
Israel faces allegations at the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body of the UN, of committing genocide in Gaza. Separately, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. It had also sought the arrest of Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif but withdrew the warrant after his reported death.
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