On September 16, 2025, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry released a legal analysis that would send shockwaves through the international community: the commission concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces are committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This conclusion, based on a year of mounting evidence and legal scrutiny, has intensified the already heated global debate about the war in Gaza, the role of the United States, and the very future of international law.
The commission’s findings, as reported by the UN Human Rights Council, are stark. Citing the 1948 Genocide Convention, the commission determined that Israel has carried out four of the five acts that constitute genocide under international law: killing members of a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life meant to destroy the group, and imposing measures intended to prevent births. The report stated, “the Commission concludes that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have had and continue to have the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
This legal conclusion was echoed by the world’s leading academic experts on genocide. In August, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution by a landslide—86% in favor—declaring that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Yet the Israeli government has categorically rejected these findings, calling the report “fabricated,” and accusing the commission of political bias, misrepresentation, and relying too heavily on data from Hamas. Israeli officials have insisted that the commission failed to demonstrate genocidal intent, a crucial legal threshold. The government’s response has only fueled further debate, both inside Israel and around the world, about the nature and intent of its military campaign in Gaza.
As the international legal and diplomatic battles rage, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels. According to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), as of August 2025, more than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, with over 640,000 expected to face catastrophic food insecurity by the end of September. The WFP reported, “More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths.” The organization’s warnings are echoed by Amnesty International, which stated, “Evidence points to Israel’s continued use of starvation to inflict genocide against Palestinians.”
These are not just acts of nature, but, as human rights organizations and UN officials allege, intentional policies. The US and Israel are accused of using starvation as a weapon of war, part of a broader strategy to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza and colonize their land. The UN commission’s report, as well as previous findings, detail a litany of other alleged crimes: extermination, torture, rape, sexual violence, inhuman treatment, forcible transfer, persecution based on gender, and starvation as a method of warfare.
The international outcry over the situation in Gaza has not been matched by action at the highest levels of global governance. Since October 2023, the United States has vetoed six United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for peace in Gaza. The most recent, on September 18, 2025, saw 14 of the 15 Council members vote for a resolution demanding a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. The United States was the lone holdout, wielding its veto power to block the measure. China’s ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, voiced the frustration of many, saying, “China is deeply disappointed by the result of today’s vote. The conflict in Gaza has been dragging on for nearly two years, causing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Time and again, the Security Council has attempted to take actions, only to be forcefully blocked by the United States. How many more innocent lives must be lost before a ceasefire can be achieved in Gaza?”
While the United States continues to provide diplomatic cover for Israel, it is also supplying vast quantities of military aid. On September 19, 2025, Reuters reported that the Trump administration is seeking Congressional approval to sell $6.4 billion in military equipment to Israel, just three days after the UN commission published its legal analysis. Earlier, in February, another arms sale worth nearly $3 billion was greenlit. This is not a new trend: during Joe Biden’s presidency, from October 2023 until January 2025, the US sent more than $18 billion in military aid to Israel. Much of this, as analysts note, consists of arms sales that benefit the US military-industrial complex, which has profited handsomely from the ongoing conflict.
The US’s unwavering support for Israel, even in the face of mounting accusations of genocide, has raised serious questions about Washington’s commitment to international law. The UN commission’s report emphasized, “The duty to prevent and punish genocide applies not only to the responsible State but to all States Parties to the Genocide Convention and indeed to all States under customary international law.” Yet, the US has not only continued its military support but has also taken unprecedented steps to undermine international legal institutions.
After the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for top Israeli officials in November 2024, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration responded with sanctions against the ICC in February 2025. The White House justified the move by claiming, “The ICC’s recent actions against Israel and the United States set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest.” The US has also withdrawn from several UN bodies, including the Human Rights Council, UNESCO, and the World Health Organization, and, for the first time, refused to participate in the UN Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review of its own human rights record.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 23, 2025, minced no words. He told Fox News, “This is completely a genocide. And this genocide is caused by Netanyahu. Netanyahu, mercilessly, has unfortunately killed tens of thousands with this genocide.” Erdogan added that over 120,000 people have been wounded in Gaza and that Türkiye has taken many of the injured into the country for treatment. He continued, “We are in complete opposition to this genocide.” Erdogan rejected the notion that Hamas alone is responsible for the violence, saying, “This is not a crime that is one sided. I think that would be wrong to accuse just Hamas about this. At the same time, how can we put aside what Netanyahu has done?”
The Israeli government, for its part, remains defiant. Officials have dismissed the genocide allegations as “fabricated” and politically motivated, insisting that the military campaign is a necessary response to Hamas’s attacks and the ongoing security threat to Israeli citizens. The government also points to the complexity of urban warfare in Gaza and claims that it takes steps to minimize civilian casualties, even as critics allege indiscriminate attacks.
As the world watches, the legal and moral arguments continue to collide with the grim realities on the ground. More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s offensive in October 2023, according to Turkish and UN sources. The enclave remains devastated, with famine spreading and no end to the conflict in sight.
In the end, the international community is left grappling with a profound dilemma: how to respond to mounting evidence of genocide and humanitarian catastrophe, when the world’s most powerful nation stands in the way of collective action. The coming months will test not only the resolve of diplomats and legal institutions but also the conscience of the world itself.
