ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – An independent investigation report by a United Nations Commission of Inquiry (Col) on Tuesday concluded that the Israeli military has committed acts of genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza, and found the Israeli authorities culprit in inciting the genocide.

The UN Commission report, put together by the Human Rights Council (HRC) and containing almost two years of investigation findings since October 7, 2023, accused the Israeli government of committing a genocide in Gaza based on four categories, including “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction” and “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”

The report accused top Israeli officials of advocating for genocide through delivering messages that indicated “their intention to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group,” and calling “for vengeance, destruction and annihilation,” which the Israeli forces received “as an order to destroy Palestinians in Gaza and such order was indeed executed through military operations.”

The Israeli authorities issued public messages calling for “violence against and the killing of Palestinians, the erasure of the Gaza Strip, vengeance, collective punishment, declaring that there are no innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip, planning for new Israeli settlements on the rubble of the Gaza Strip and calling for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza to third States,” according to the UN report.

“The Commission therefore finds that the Israeli authorities intended to kill as many Palestinians as possible through its military operations in Gaza since 7 October 2023,” the report added.

“The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission, said. “It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.”

In the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, Israel launched a brutal military campaign against the Gaza Strip that has claimed the lives of nearly 65,000 Palestinians in under two years.

Avichay Adraee, Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, on Tuesday urged Gaza residents to evacuate the strip, citing a large-scale ground operation by the Israeli forces, stating “Gaza City is a dangerous combat zone. Remaining in the area puts you in danger,” adding “join over 40% of the city's residents who have moved out of the city.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday gloated that "Gaza is burning," as the Israeli military unleashed a relentless bombing campaign.

The Israeli state has rejected genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) during a public hearing in The Hague, noting Israel’s measures are set to protect its citizens following the October 7 incident and not to destroy a body of people.

Israel and the US have boycotted the UN Human Rights Council, accusing it of anti-Semitism and bias against the Israeli state.

Reporting by Hevi Karam