UN inquiry says Israel committed crimes against humanity in West Bank and genocide in Gaza continues

JERUSALEM — A UN commission of inquiry said on Monday that Israel has committed crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank and is still committing genocide in Gaza, despite a US-brokered ceasefire. Israel rejects the findings.

The report comes from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. It covers the period from October 7, 2023, to September 2026, according to Al Jazeera.

What the commission found

In the West Bank, the commission said Israeli authorities and forces committed the crimes against humanity of extermination, torture, rape and other sexual violence. It also cited persecution on discriminatory grounds, with nationality, race and ethnicity "at its core".

The commission said Israeli military operations, reinforced by sustained settler violence, amounted to a "widespread and systematic attack" on civilians. It said the authorities intended to punish residents of the territory collectively for the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023.

The report records a sharp rise in deaths from air strikes in the West Bank. It says six Palestinians were killed in this way between 2008 and October 6, 2023. It says 254 were killed between October 7, 2023, and September 30, 2026.

According to Arab News, the report also says torture, rape and reproductive violence were used to displace and subjugate Palestinians. It says Israeli forces deliberately killed and maimed children in the West Bank, which it described as age-based persecution.

Military operations since January 2025 caused the largest displacement in the West Bank since 1967, the commission said. It said 34,176 Palestinians remained displaced as of August.

"The intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank combined with Israel's persistent denial of responsibility form part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians and impose conditions of life that are unlivable," said Srinivasan Muralidhar, the commission's chair.

Gaza and the ceasefire

On Gaza, the commission said Israeli forces have continued to commit "genocidal acts" since the ceasefire took effect last October. It described the truce as "so-called". It said the acts were intended to destroy Palestinians "in whole or in part".

Muralidhar said Israel's expansion of territorial control in Gaza continues to kill and harm Palestinian civilians who approach or cross the so-called Yellow Line. The line separates Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of the territory. According to Arab News, it divides eastern Gaza, under Israeli military control, from the west, where the Palestinian population is confined.

Medical officials in Gaza said at least five Palestinians were killed in Israeli air attacks across the territory on Monday, according to Al Jazeera. It said one of them was a seven-year-old girl. Al Jazeera also cited the Gaza Health Ministry as saying at least 74,500 people have been killed in the war. The ministry says the war has displaced nearly all of the territory's population.

The commission traced what it called the root causes of the conflict to the 1947-48 war. It concluded that Israel has since sought to expand its territory and displace Palestinians by force, according to Arab News.

Muralidhar said that "seizing maximum land while minimizing the Palestinian population" stems from Israel's "colonizing policies". He also said that attempts "to equate Palestinian statehood with a threat to the existence of Israel" are blocking viable efforts to realise Palestinians' right to self-determination.

Palestinian Authority criticised

The report also examined abuses by Palestinian forces. It found that the Palestinian Authority targeted people who voiced dissent, according to Al Jazeera and Arab News. The commission said the killing and wounding of journalists and human rights defenders had steadily narrowed the space for civil society.

Israel's response

Israel's mission in Geneva called the report part of a "misinformation campaign to demonize the State of Israel and portray its very existence as criminal". In a statement, it urged the international community to "reject these distortions, repudiate the commission's findings and demand its immediate dissolution".

The Associated Press, cited by Arab News, reported that Israel denies both the genocide allegation and the claims of sexual assault. It said Israel did not immediately respond to the report's publication. The AP also said it could not independently corroborate the report's claims.

Muralidhar is due to present the report to the UN General Assembly's Third Committee this week, according to Arab News.

Guterres post

In a post on Telegram, Quds News Network said UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the "spectre of ethnic cleansing" is looming larger in the occupied West Bank. The channel said he cited expanding Israeli settlements, the displacement of Palestinian families and a surge in settler attacks. The post is unverified. The source material does not say when or where Guterres made the remarks, and none of the news reports reviewed mention them.

Background

The commission has three members. The UN Human Rights Council established it in 2021. It does not speak for the UN as a whole, Al Jazeera noted.

It first concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza during the war that followed the October 7 attacks. Israel rejected that finding.

Navi Pillay, a former South African High Court judge, led the commission until last November. Al Jazeera reported that she won the Nobel Peace Prize this month. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.