Amnesty’s report argues that Israel’s actions, particularly between 7 October 2023 and early July 2024, fulfilled the criteria for three specific acts prohibited by Article II of the Genocide Convention:

1. Article II(a): Killing members of the group (pp. 18-20, 106-122)

  • Direct & Indiscriminate Attacks: Amnesty International investigated 15 specific Israeli air strikes that killed at least 334 civilians, including 141 children, in homes, a church, a market, and refugee camps (pp. 19, 106-110). The organization concluded these were either direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects or indiscriminate attacks, finding no evidence of military objectives in the vicinity that would justify them (pp. 19, 111). These specific cases were presented as demonstrative of a broader pattern (p. 19).
  • Scale of Killings: The report highlights the unprecedented scale of Palestinian fatalities recorded by the Gaza-based Ministry of Health (over 42,000 by October 2024), noting that nearly 60% of identified victims were children, women, and older people (pp. 16, 60, 119).
  • Means and Methods: The report points to Israel’s use of large explosive weapons (including US-made JDAMs) with wide area effects in densely populated urban areas (pp. 14, 19, 111, 120). It notes that many attacks occurred at night when families were likely to be asleep in their homes, indicating an intent to cause high casualties (pp. 19, 111).
  • Pattern of Conduct: Amnesty argues that the repetition of such deadly attacks, often wiping out entire families (p. 31), and targeting locations where displaced people sought shelter (p. 111), demonstrates a pattern of unlawful killing directed against the Palestinian population in Gaza (pp. 19, 122).

Conclusion for (a): Based on the documented pattern of direct and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, the massive scale of civilian deaths (including a high proportion of women and children), and the use of heavy explosive weapons in dense areas often without warning, Amnesty concluded that Israel intentionally killed members of the Palestinian group in Gaza (p. 122).

2. Article II(b): Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group (pp. 18-20, 106-122, 233-235)

  • Serious Bodily Harm (Physical): This stems directly from the same unlawful attacks that caused killings. The report notes the extremely high number of injured Palestinians (over 97,500 by October 2024) (pp. 16, 60, 119). It emphasizes the scale of life-changing injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation (estimated 22,500 by July 2024), including thousands of amputations (estimated 4,500 by Sept 2024), major burns, and severe traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries (pp. 20, 119). The collapse of the healthcare system, partly due to Israeli attacks and restrictions, exacerbated these injuries (pp. 23-24). Torture and other ill-treatment in detention also constitute serious bodily harm (pp. 12, 31, 233-234).
  • Serious Mental Harm: The report argues that serious mental harm resulted from the cumulative trauma of enduring relentless bombardment, witnessing mass killings (including of family members), experiencing repeated forced displacement under terrifying conditions, living in constant fear, and suffering the extreme deprivation detailed under act (c) below (pp. 12-13, 20, 132). The specific targeting of homes, cultural sites, and the conditions in detention also contribute to profound mental suffering (pp. 12, 32-33, 233).

Conclusion for (b): Amnesty concluded that the massive scale of severe, often life-altering physical injuries resulting from unlawful attacks, the documented torture and ill-treatment, and the profound psychological trauma inflicted through the offensive and its associated conditions constitute “causing serious bodily or mental harm” to Palestinians in Gaza (p. 20).

3. Article II(c): Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part (pp. 21-30, 123-201)

Amnesty argues Israel inflicted such conditions through a combination of actions:

  • Destruction of Objects Indispensable to Survival: This includes the widespread destruction of homes (62% by Jan 2024), healthcare facilities (nearly 84% damaged/destroyed by Jan 2024), food production systems (agricultural land, greenhouses, farms, bakeries), water and sanitation infrastructure (57% water infrastructure damaged/destroyed by Jan 2024), and energy infrastructure (solar panels, power lines) (pp. 16, 23, 124-131). The creation of a large “buffer zone” involved destroying fertile agricultural land (p. 23).
  • Mass Forced Displacement: Repeatedly ordering the displacement of the vast majority of the population (1.9 million, 90%) into ever-smaller, designated “humanitarian zones” or other areas that were unsafe, lacked basic sanitation, water, food, and shelter, and were often subsequently attacked (pp. 12, 24, 131-145). The report details the chaotic, dangerous, and traumatizing nature of these evacuations (pp. 24-25, 136).
  • Denial and Obstruction of Essential Supplies: Imposing a “total siege” initially, cutting off food, water, fuel, and electricity (pp. 26, 147-148). Subsequently maintaining a suffocating blockade by severely restricting and obstructing the entry and distribution of life-saving aid through insufficient access points, onerous and arbitrary inspection procedures, denial of entry for essential items (including fuel, medical equipment, shelter materials), and impeding humanitarian movement, particularly to northern Gaza (pp. 27-30, 146-187).
  • Resulting Conditions: These actions collectively led to catastrophic conditions including widespread and severe hunger, acute malnutrition (especially among children, reaching levels 10 times higher than pre-offensive), imminent risk of famine, dehydration, and the rapid spread of infectious and waterborne diseases due to lack of clean water, sanitation, and healthcare (pp. 21-22, 187-198).

Conclusion for (c): Amnesty concluded that by systematically destroying infrastructure essential for life, forcibly displacing the population into unlivable conditions, and deliberately obstructing life-saving aid, Israel intentionally created conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, leading to a “slow death” from hunger and disease (pp. 30, 199-201).