In the report it was found that four of the five requirements for an offensive to be considered genocide have been met: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of live calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
Since October 7 2023, Israeli forces have killed almost 65,000 Palestinians and destroyed most of the territory’s healthcare infrastructure. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHR) found that at least 46% of those killed since then were women and children.
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Deaths of women and children have comprised nearly 60% of total fatalities from 18 March to 25 March 2025 after Israel broke an agreed ceasefire.
In the report, it was found that the life expectancy of Palestinians has dramatically dropped by 46.3% – from 75.7 years to just 40.5 years.
Citing a spokesperson from the Israeli military, who said “we are focused on what causes maximum damage”, the report confirmed that Israel “has used heavy unguided munitions with a wide margin of error in densely populated residential areas”.
The report reads: “The Commission observed that the Israeli security forces repeatedly subjected urban areas in the Gaza Strip to heavy bombardment with explosive weapons with wide-area effect, rather than precision guided (or “smart”) weapons, leading to the complete destruction of neighbourhoods.
“The number of bombs used by Israel since 7 October 2023 is extraordinary even in comparison to other world conflicts.”
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A military expert, also cited in the report, said: “Israel is dropping in less than a week what the United States was dropping in Afghanistan in a year, in a much smaller, much more densely populated area.”
The UN report said that Israeli forces had deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure in Gaza, such as “high-rise buildings” and “residential apartment blocks”.
“These led to the levelling of entire city blocks and residential neighbourhoods under sustained heavy bombardment. On many occasions, Israeli bombardment has destroyed apartment blocks, killing almost all the civilians therein”, it continues.
This story is developing and will be updated.
