An excellent and deeply important piece
by Faisal Khan. — Molly
The Case for Genocide in Gaza
This is not a political opinion. It is a legal case—rooted in international law, precedent, and irrefutable evidence. What is unfolding in Gaza is not a conflict. It is not a war. It is genocide.
We are now nineteen months into the deliberate annihilation of a civilian population—most of them women and children—under the guise of national security. Entire hospitals have been reduced to rubble. Schools turned into graveyards. Water and food blocked. Doctors silenced. Entire families vaporized. And the world still has not stopped it. Worse, it continues to arm it.
The language of genocide has been debated. But the legal definition is clear. The crime of genocide is defined by the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which both Israel and the United States have ratified. Article II of the Genocide Convention defines it as:
“Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:”
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm;
(c) Deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy the group in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures to prevent births;
(e) Forcibly transferring children.
This definition was authored by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-Jewish lawyer who coined the term “genocide” in 1944 after the Nazi extermination of Jews, Roma, and others in Europe. Lemkin believed it was imperative for nations to codify and prevent the targeted destruction of entire peoples—not just through killing, but through cultural erasure, dehumanization, starvation, and displacement.
The Genocide Convention was signed into law to ensure that never again would the world ignore such crimes. Yet here we are again.
The actions of the Israeli government, as well as the statements made by its leaders, meet every component of the legal definition of genocide. Consider the facts:
Killing Members of the Group
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including over 20,000 children, according to independent health officials, local authorities, and UN agencies. The numbers rise daily as bodies are pulled from rubble, often in fragments. Hospitals have recorded death tolls so vast they ran out of body bags months ago.
Causing Serious Bodily or Mental Harm
Amputations without anesthesia. Palestinian children permanently disfigured. Orphaned babies kept alive in incubators with no electricity. Palestinian pregnant women giving birth under bombardment. Countless others live with psychological trauma no human being—especially a child—should ever endure.
Deliberately Inflicting Conditions of Life Meant to Destroy
Israeli officials have cut off food, water, and medicine from Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. They have bombed every hospital in the north, obliterated UN food convoys, and blocked international doctors from entering. This is the weaponization of famine—a tactic used in every recognized genocide in modern history.
Dr. Victoria Rose, a British plastic surgeon currently volunteering at Nasser Hospital, told Channel 4 News:
“We are losing children left, right and center from avoidable deaths.” “There are no basic blood tests, no medical aid… We are watching children die from starvation, sepsis, and burns that are treatable.”
Forcible Displacement
Over 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced. Entire towns have been bulldozed. Over a million people have been pushed toward the southern border—only to be bombed again. This is not a military operation. This is forced expulsion. As Israeli leaders themselves have stated, the goal is to permanently remove Palestinians from Gaza.
Intent: The Most Important Legal Threshold
Genocide is not simply about mass killing. It is about intent—the desire to destroy a group “as such.” And here, Israel has declared its intent openly, repeatedly, and without shame.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich gave a chilling speech this May:
“We are annihilating everything that remains in the Strip… simply because it is one big city of terror.”
“We are dismantling Gaza, leaving it in ruins with unprecedented destruction, and the world still hasn’t stopped us.”
“Citizens in Gaza will get a pita and a plate of food, and that’s it… it allows the world to continue providing us with international protection.”
“Until the last of the hostages returns, we should also not let water into the Gaza Strip.”
“The population will reach the south of the Strip, and from there, God willing, to third countries, as part of President Trump’s plan.”
This is direct, explicit genocidal intent—to reduce Gaza to rubble, starve its population, and push them into exile.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant famously declared last year:
“We are fighting human animals… Gaza will never return to what it was.” This is dehumanization—a recognized precursor to genocide.
Historical Parallels and precedents: Historical Genocides Acknowledged Under International Law
1. The Holocaust – 6 million Jews systematically exterminated by Nazi Germany.
2. Rwanda (1994) – 800,000 Tutsi killed in 100 days; recognized by the ICTR.
3. Bosnia (Srebrenica, 1995) – Over 8,000 Muslim men and boys massacred; ruled genocide by the ICJ.
4. Cambodia (1975–1979) – 1.7 million Cambodians killed by the Khmer Rouge.
5. The Indigenous Genocide in the Americas – Entire civilizations wiped out, cultural erasure, mass killings.
6. The Transatlantic Slave Trade – Millions of black people were kidnapped, trafficked, and killed; racialized mass dehumanization.
7. Iraq (2003–2011) – The invasion, sanctions, and destruction have led to arguments that U.S. actions meet elements of genocidal warfare—particularly in Fallujah, where white phosphorus and depleted uranium were used. A 2010 study by British and Iraqi researchers described Fallujah’s cancer and birth defect rates as worse than Hiroshima’s after the atomic bomb.
8. Many scholars and human rights advocates argue that the United States committed acts amounting to genocide during the Vietnam War—particularly through the indiscriminate bombing campaigns, the use of chemical weapons like Agent Orange, and massacres such as My Lai. Entire regions were subjected to chemical defoliation, forced starvation, and civilian slaughter, causing long-term generational harm and ecological devastation. These actions meet several criteria under the UN Genocide Convention, including “causing serious bodily or mental harm” and “deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to destroy.”
The tactics used in Gaza—blockade, bombardment, starvation, displacement—mirror every one of these atrocities.
Complicity: The Role of the United States and NATO. The United States has not only failed to prevent this genocide—it has enabled it.
• It has supplied bombs and weapons even after ICJ ruled a plausible genocide was underway.
• It has vetoed ceasefire resolutions at the UN Security Council.
• It has blocked humanitarian aid by backing Israel’s siege strategy.
• It has pressured international institutions not to pursue arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
• It has threatened sanctions against the International Criminal Court, should it prosecute war crimes by Israeli leaders.
Under Article I of the Genocide Convention, signatory states have an affirmative obligation to prevent genocide. The U.S. is not a neutral actor. It is actively shielding the perpetrators.
Dehumanization in American Political Discourse
The dehumanization of Muslims, Arabs, and immigrants is not confined to foreign policy—it is deeply entrenched in American political rhetoric. This normalization of hate has paved the way for complicity in atrocities abroad.
•Trump Described undocumented immigrants as “animals” and claimed they are “poisoning the blood” of the nation.
• Asserted, “Islam hates us,” and advocated for a total shutdown of Muslims entering the U.S.
• Compared Syrian refugees to “rabid dogs,” suggesting they pose a threat to American society.
Steve King (Former U.S. Representative)
• Claimed Islam is “incompatible” with American life and expressed opposition to Muslims working in meat-packing plants.
Ann Coulter (Political Commentator)
• Asserted that “not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims,” perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
Ben Carson (Former HUD Secretary)
• Suggested that a Muslim should not be president and compared Syrian refugees to “rabid dogs.”
This pervasive rhetoric dehumanizes entire communities, making it easier to justify or ignore their suffering. In conclusion, the world cannot plead ignorance. The evidence is overwhelming. The perpetrators have confessed. The victims are dead or starving. The buildings are gone. The population is scattered. And the goal has been stated out loud: “Annihilation.”
What more does the international community need? Justice is not a favor for the powerful. It is a duty. The United States must be held accountable for its complicity. Israeli officials must be brought before the International Criminal Court. Arms embargoes must be implemented. Humanitarian aid must be delivered without obstruction.
We said “Never Again” in Nuremberg. We said it after Rwanda. We said it after Srebrenica. And we said it again after every graveyard was filled with children the world didn’t save.
It is genocide in Gaza. The law says so. History will say so. And we must say so—now—or the blood is on our hands too.
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