Genocide Debate Intensifies As Gaza Crisis Deepens

In the wake of the devastating Israel-Hamas war that erupted in October 2023, the world has been left grappling with the immense human toll, the destruction of Gaza, and a fierce debate over the use of the word "genocide." The controversy is not confined to the courtrooms of The Hague or the chambers of the United Nations—it has spilled onto the streets, into parliaments, and across social media, dividing public opinion and political alliances alike.

Photographs taken on November 25, 2025, by the Associated Press show sprawling tent camps for displaced Palestinians set amid the rubble of northern Gaza City. These images, stark and haunting, have become emblematic of the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded since Israel launched its military campaign in response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. That assault killed about 1,200 Israelis and saw more than 200 hostages taken, according to Israeli officials. In the months that followed, Gaza’s Ministry of Health, an agency under the Hamas-run government, reported that more than 70,000 Gazans were killed as a result of Israeli strikes. While Israel contests the accuracy of these numbers, multiple international agencies and news organizations, including the BBC and Vice, have found the ministry’s figures generally credible.

Even after a ceasefire was declared on October 10, 2025, violence has not truly abated. According to the BBC, Israeli forces have killed over 360 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more during the ceasefire period, while demolishing thousands of residential structures. Humanitarian groups warn that the destruction and deprivation continue: B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, told PolitiFact, "The just demand for recognition of the genocide Israel committed in Gaza and for bringing those responsible to justice remains valid and stands now as well." Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have echoed these sentiments, urging an end to the military campaign and the blockade that has left Gaza’s population on the brink of starvation.

The use of the term "genocide" has ignited passionate arguments on all sides. Some human rights organizations, genocide scholars, and U.S. politicians—including figures like Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Rashida Tlaib—have accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. August 2025 polling by Quinnipiac University shows that half of U.S. registered voters now believe Israel’s military response in Gaza has gone too far, with many agreeing it constitutes genocide. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found similar trends, with support for Israel’s military action at a record low among Americans.

But what exactly does "genocide" mean in this context? The United Nations’ 1948 Genocide Convention, which both Israel and the United States have ratified, defines genocide as acts "committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such." This includes killing, causing serious harm, inflicting life-threatening conditions, or forcibly transferring children. Intent is the linchpin, as Sara E. Brown, a genocide scholar and regional director at the American Jewish Committee, explained to PolitiFact: "Killing members of a group is horrific but not necessarily genocide, unless it is done with an intent to destroy the group."

Israel has fiercely denied the genocide accusations, maintaining that its military campaign is an act of self-defense against Hamas, which it describes as a terrorist organization. In court filings and public statements, Israeli officials have asserted that their actions are aimed at defeating Hamas and rescuing hostages, not targeting civilians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on November 15, 2025, "Hamas will be disarmed—either the easy way or the hard way." After a hospital strike in August that killed at least 20 people, including journalists, Netanyahu declared, "Our war is with Hamas terrorists. Our just goals are defeating Hamas and bringing our hostages home."

Yet, the suffering has not been limited to Gaza. The West Bank, governed by the Palestinian Authority and lacking an armed resistance infrastructure, has also endured a surge in violence. Between October 7, 2023, and late 2025, UN and human rights reports indicate that Israeli forces and settlers killed over 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, including more than 200 children. Thousands more were injured, and Israeli authorities destroyed or confiscated thousands of Palestinian-owned structures, displacing many. An estimated 10,000 Palestinians from the West Bank were arrested between October 2023 and August 2024.

Dr. Ramzy Baroud, a journalist and author, argues that the conflict cannot be reduced to a simple response to armed groups. In The Palestine Chronicle, Baroud contends, "Only by abandoning the reductionist language that frames Israeli wars as simple responses to armed groups can we arrive at a profound understanding of events in Palestine, Israel’s true motives, and the legitimacy of the Palestinian struggle." He points to historical precedents—the 1948 Nakba, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their homes, and the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, where up to 3,500 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians were killed—as evidence that violence against Palestinians is rooted in broader settler-colonial ambitions, not merely security concerns.

The legal process for determining genocide is slow and fraught with political obstacles. Two international courts—the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC)—have jurisdiction over such claims. In December 2023, South Africa filed a case at the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. The ICJ has allowed the case to proceed and ordered Israel to take provisional measures, including allowing humanitarian aid and punishing incitement to genocide. However, enforcement is a challenge. As Michael Lynk, a law professor and former U.N. human rights expert, told PolitiFact, "The hole in the heart of international law is that it doesn't have its own army. It doesn't have its own police. It depends upon international cooperation and international political resolve in order to be effective."

The ICJ has only once before formally recognized an event as genocide: the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia. Even then, the court did not find Serbia directly responsible for committing genocide, but for failing to prevent it. As for the ICC, it has issued only one arrest warrant for genocide, against Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir, but he has never been tried. In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as for a Hamas military leader (who has since been killed). Neither Israel nor the U.S. are members of the ICC, and President Donald Trump has issued an executive order imposing sanctions on the court.

As the legal and political battles grind on, the humanitarian disaster in Gaza persists. Aid organizations, including the United Nations and Médecins Sans Frontières, report that Israel continues to restrict food and medical supplies, exacerbating starvation and disease. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 83% of Gaza’s buildings have been destroyed, and the prospect of rebuilding seems a distant dream.

The debate over whether Israel’s actions constitute genocide may ultimately be settled in a courtroom years from now. For the people of Gaza and the West Bank, however, the consequences are immediate and devastating. The world watches, divided and uncertain, as legal definitions and political realities collide in a region scarred by decades of conflict.