United Nations-mandated investigators said on Monday that Israel has committed crimes against humanity in the West Bank and continues to commit genocidal acts in Gaza. The findings come from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a report to the UN General Assembly.

Israel immediately rejected the findings. Its mission in Geneva described the report as part of a campaign to demonise Israel, and Israel has previously dismissed the commission's genocide allegation as false.

Gaza: control expanded since the ceasefire

The commission said Israeli forces have expanded territorial control in Gaza from 53% to at least 60% since the ceasefire agreement signed in October 2025. Israeli fire along the advancing front killed at least 196 Palestinians in that period, including 18 women, 32 boys and 11 girls, according to the commission's figures.

The report concludes that Israeli authorities and forces continue to commit genocidal acts with the intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, in whole or in part. The commission's findings are evidence for possible legal proceedings, not a final ruling by the International Court of Justice or a criminal conviction.

West Bank: a sharp deterioration

In the West Bank, the commission found crimes against humanity including extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and persecution, targeted on grounds including nationality, race and ethnicity. It cited a sharp rise in airstrike deaths: six Palestinians were killed by airstrikes between 2008 and 6 October 2023, compared with 254 between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2026.

The report was published the day before Israel's general election, and as Israeli forces carried out a large operation in Hebron. That timing, and Israel's rejection, are part of the story, not background to it.

Source: UN OHCHR