The international humanitarian law offers the principles of evaluation of acts of war such as war crimes and genocide. War crimes are considered to be serious breach of law of war that include attacks on civilians, torture and disproportional attacks against civilian infrastructures. The 1948 UN Convention defines genocide as evident destruction, wholly or partially, of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. Genocide, unlike war crimes, requires an element of specific intent, and thus it is one of the most challenging charges to prosecute in the international law.
In September 2025, findings were released as a result of investigations by the UN Independent International Commission on Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which was chaired by Navi Pillay, a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who found Israeli acts in Gaza since October 2023 could amount to genocide. The report describes a tendency of behavior, which involves the murder of civilians, the establishment of life-threatening living conditions, and measures that can be interpreted as the prohibition of births within the group-qualities that the Genocide Convention has.
The results have further polarized the legal and political frameworks, posing some challenging issues to jurisdiction, evidence standards, and international courts.
The Human Cost Of The Gaza Conflict
The current war in Gaza has brought about a lot of civilian loss and humanitarian misery. The number of Palestinians who have died since the onset of the recent military spurt have been reported by the health authorities of Gaza and confirmed by international observers as more than 65,400. In their numbers, there are no less than 24,000 children. These figures show that the population of Gaza is very high, and civilians tend to be caught in militant operations and military airstrikes.
Hospitals, schools, residential towers, and refugee camps have been massively targeted or damaged resulting in the mass displacement. Almost all of this has led to the breakdown of necessary infrastructure such as water, sanitation, and electricity in most regions with civilian infrastructure being systematically destroyed. This has resulted in what UN agencies term as a humanitarian disaster of which over 90 percent of the Gaza population are food-insecure.
The healthcare systems are overstretched. Medication shortages, fuel shortages, and lack of trauma care facilities have left thousands of people with no immediate medical care. According to the World Health Organization, the majority of the remaining hospitals are operating at a very low capacity, which is sometimes at the risk of being shelled.
These circumstances do not just address the breach of the law, but a greater human crisis. This is the dark reality to which the international community is anchored in the allegations of war crimes because laws are being put to a test against the reality of millions of people.
Divergent Stakeholder Perspectives
Israel strictly denies any accusations of genocide and war crimes. It claims that its military actions are in self-defense, based on the Hamas-led attack on October 2023 killing more than 1,200 Israeli civilians and taking hostages. Israeli leaders underline the fact that their military operations are aimed at Hamas fighters and facilities and that civilian deaths are not accidental but a conscious choice of Hamas to act in civilian zones.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly rejected the report of the Commission of which it called it to be of a legal nature and politically driven. The Israeli legal advisers believed that the measure undertaken is within the scope of proportional response as provided in the doctrine of international law concerning armed conflict.
On the other hand, Palestinian leaders and rights groups say that such behaviour of Israel cannot be considered as reasonable or retaliatory. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September 2025, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, The international community cannot stand by silently as war crimes are perpetrated against a whole nation. He repeated demands of international protection and law enforcement.
The argument that the international humanitarian law has been violated has been supported by various NGOs, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. In their records, there are heavy explosives which are used in populated places, refusal to deliver humanitarian aids, and ban on medical evacuations.
The Role Of The International Community And Legal Institutions
The Gaza crisis has put fresh emphasis on the role and effectiveness of the international legal institutions. South Africa filed a case in January 2025 with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel in a case claiming Israel breached the Genocide Convention. The case is still in motion and it may be many years before a final verdict is given, but interim solutions like insisting on the termination of certain military operations are not out of the question.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is also under pressure to hasten investigations originated many years back into the alleged offences committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Nevertheless, courts and political opponents keep derailing the processes.
Forums such as the UN Human rights council and the UN general assembly have actively been used as platforms of debate. A number of the member states have requested independent inquiries, resolutions of ceasefire and foreign surveillance. Nevertheless, it is still impossible to reach a unanimous opinion, and the nature and content of official reactions are determined by geopolitical affiliations.
In July 2025, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all the parties to observe international law, saying, There can be no peace without accountability. The principles of war are there in force not by choice. His statements were taken to request that the world should respect international law standards, even during the most political disputes.
Navi Pillay’s Commission Report And Global Reaction
This has been heightened by the September 2025 report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, headed by Navi Pillay. Pillay stated,
“The scale and severity of civilian suffering in Gaza cannot be reconciled with legal justifications offered by Israel. We must consider if a threshold has been crossed.”
This report by UN News gives the complete coverage and context of findings made by the Commission. It explains the legal grounds of the claims of genocide and brings to the fore certain events mentioned as evidence which include; denial of food and water, setting of hospitals ablaze, and bombing of evacuation paths.
The reaction of international analysts towards the report has been mixed. Individual countries, such as Norway, Ireland, and Chile have signed the necessity of an international investigation. Other countries, such as the United States and some members of the European Union have voiced their reservations, highlighting the right of Israel to self-defense, but said there had to be de-escalation and humanitarian access.
Legal Complexities And Moral Tensions
Legal institutions engage in investigations; nevertheless, most professionals report against oversimplification. In a court of law, proving genocide involves proving to exist a certain intent of the genocide which in most cases is based on documents, orders or on a sequence of actions. This is quite different as compared to evidence employed to determine the crime of war which concentrates on deeds, but not motives.
Even if Israel is not ultimately found guilty of genocide, the investigation may yield findings of serious violations of the Geneva Conventions. The cumulative effect of sustained civilian harm, indiscriminate strikes, and systematic deprivation of aid continues to fuel international legal discourse on proportionality, necessity, and accountability.
For victims and survivors, however, legal definitions are often insufficient to address the totality of loss, trauma, and displacement. This dichotomy between legal thresholds and lived suffering poses ethical dilemmas for policymakers, legal experts, and humanitarian workers alike.
As the Gaza conflict enters its third year of sustained hostilities, the convergence of legal inquiry and human tragedy demands sustained attention. Allegations of war crimes and genocide are not merely procedural matters, they are urgent indicators of international norms under strain. How global institutions respond, and whether they can reconcile justice with diplomacy, will define the credibility of humanitarian law in the 21st century. Beyond rulings and resolutions, the enduring challenge remains: can law offer protection when politics fail?