Gaza: Is This Genocide?
Our leaflet outlines the claims; here, we bear witness to the human reality. This is the story of a population trapped in an unending nightmare—the roar of bombardment, the dust of collapsed homes choking the air, the silent grief for lost loved ones, and the desperate search for bread and water where none remains. It is a narrative of systematic destruction, where the threads of society, medicine, and hope are being deliberately unraveled.
The Scale of Destruction
Claim: Destruction of 90% of Homes, Businesses, Infrastructure, Schools, Universities, Hospitals, and Farms.
Homes:
As of mid-2024, multiple United Nations agencies and international institutions have documented the extensive destruction across the Gaza Strip. According to UNOSAT’s 7th Comprehensive Damage Assessment, satellite imagery revealed 36,591 destroyed structures, 16,513 severely damaged, 47,368 moderately damaged, and 36,825 possibly damaged, totalling 137,297 affected structures—around 55% of all buildings in Gaza. The World Bank and United Nations joint interim damage assessment found that housing accounted for 72% of total damage costs, with over 60% of homes across Gaza either destroyed or damaged. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) later reported that 92% of homes in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, leaving nearly the entire population exposed to unsafe living conditions. Similarly, UNITAR/UNOSAT confirmed that 66% of all structures in Gaza sustained some level of damage, including 52,564 completely destroyed. Together, these findings illustrate the near-total devastation of Gaza’s built environment following months of bombardment.
- UNOSAT Gaza Strip 7th Comprehensive Damage Assessment
- Joint World Bank / UN Report Assesses Damage to Gaza’s Infrastructure
- Gaza Strip Interim Damage Assessment (PDF)
- OCHA Humanitarian Situation Update #263 – Gaza Strip
- UNITAR: 66% of Total Structures in the Gaza Strip Have Sustained Damage
Health System:
As of 2024–2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) has verified 697 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza since October 2023, plus 28 more attacks in recent weeks. (World Health Organization) Only 19 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain operational—of those, 12 offer a variety of health services while the rest provide only basic emergency care. (World Health Organization) At least 94 % of hospitals are either damaged or destroyed. (World Health Organization) WHO also reports that four major hospitals (Kamal Adwan, Indonesia, Hamad Rehabilitation & Prosthetics, European Gaza) have been forced to suspend services. (World Health Organization)
- Health system at breaking point as hostilities further intensify in Gaza, WHO warns
- OHCHR Thematic Report – Attacks on Hospitals
- 1000 Attacks on Health Care in the Occupied Palestinian Territories – PHR
- Attacks on health facilities during the Gaza war (Wikipedia)
Education:
As of 2024, UNICEF and associated education clusters report extremely high levels of destruction to Gaza’s education infrastructure. One UNICEF-led situation report states that “over 87 per cent of all school buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed”, and it adds that “every university in Gaza has been destroyed.” (UNICEF) In other sources, UNRWA notes that 85 per cent of school buildings in Gaza have been hit or damaged since the war began. (unrwa.org) Additional assessments by NGOs such as Save the Children estimate that 87.7 per cent of school buildings are damaged or destroyed, and report that out of Gaza’s 16 university campuses, 4 have been destroyed and 10 severely or moderately damaged. (Save the Children International)
- UNICEF – Over 87 per cent of all school buildings damaged or destroyed
- UNRWA – Education Under Attack: 85 % of school buildings hit or damaged
- Save the Children – 87.7 % of school buildings damaged, universities hit
- ACAPS – Gaza education infrastructure: “at least 93% of school buildings … have been severely bombarded”
Agriculture and Food Production:
As of April–May 2025, more than 80% of Gaza’s cropland (≈ 12,537 hectares out of ~15,053) has been damaged, and 77.8% is inaccessible to farmers, leaving only 4.6% (about 688 hectares) available for cultivation. Greenhouses are similarly devastated: 71.2% of all greenhouses have been damaged, with Rafah seeing a jump to 86.5% damaged greenhouses. Agricultural wells are also severely damaged: 82.8% of wells across the Gaza Strip are now non-functional. The total economic damage & losses to the agricultural sector is over US$2 billion, with recovery & reconstruction needs estimated at US$4.2 billion.
- Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure continues to deteriorate at alarming rate (FAO / UNOSAT) FAOHome
- 67.6% of Gaza’s cropland has been damaged: Geospatial data shows intensifying damage to Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure – FAO & UNOSAT United Nations
- More than 95 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land unusable, UN warns | Al Jazeera
- Gaza’s farmland has been almost erased | The National The National
The Human Cost: Famine and Loss of Life
Claim: Targeting the lifelines of society, Israel has systematically killed those who heal, report, and feed a besieged population while imposing a man-made famine.
Famine:
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), famine is imminent in northern Gaza. As of March 2024, 70% of the population in northern Gaza faces “catastrophic hunger” — the highest classification of food insecurity. The report further found that one in three children under two years old was acutely malnourished between mid-January and mid-March, a level of deprivation rarely seen in modern conflicts. The IPC described conditions as “beyond the threshold of famine,” with starvation and dehydration claiming increasing numbers of lives daily.
- IPC – Gaza Strip: Acute Food Insecurity Situation (March 2024)
- IPC Alert – Famine is Imminent in Northern Gaza (March 2024)
Starvation as a Weapon of War:
In a landmark case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the court ruled it “plausible” that Israel’s actions in Gaza could constitute genocide, citing evidence of deliberate deprivation of food, water, and essential services. The ICJ ordered provisional measures compelling Israel to allow humanitarian aid and basic necessities to reach civilians. This assessment has been echoed by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, who stated that Israel is engaging in “starvation as a weapon of war”, deliberately targeting the food system and obstructing relief. The deliberate restriction of life-sustaining resources has been condemned as a grave breach of international humanitarian law.
- ICJ – Order of 28 March 2024: Provisional Measures in South Africa v. Israel
- UN OHCHR – Israel Using Starvation as a Weapon of War in Gaza, UN Expert Says
Health Workers Targeted:
The destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system has been compounded by the killing of its medical professionals. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 500 health workers — including doctors, nurses, and paramedics — have been killed, and dozens of hospitals and ambulances have been repeatedly struck. The WHO warns that Gaza’s health system has suffered a “death blow,” with only a fraction of facilities partially functional.
Reports from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) indicate that the toll may now exceed 1,500 medical staff killed since the beginning of Israel’s assault, while UN human rights officials have documented continued strikes on hospitals and clinics even in mid-2025. Independent humanitarian groups, including Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), estimate that on average, two healthcare workers are killed every day, as medical teams operate under siege conditions, without safe corridors or supplies.
- World Health Organization – Attacks on Health Care in Gaza
- Doctors Without Borders – Remembering Our Colleagues Killed in Gaza
- UN Human Rights Office – Press Release, July 2025
- Medical Aid for Palestinians / ReliefWeb – Two Healthcare Workers Killed Every Day on Average
- BMJ – Report on Medical Staff Killed in Gaza
Journalists Killed:
The war on Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists ever recorded. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has confirmed the killing of over 110 journalists and media workers since October 2023 — an unprecedented toll in modern history. The UNESCO Director-General has repeatedly condemned these killings, stressing that journalists must never be targeted for their work. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has filed formal complaints to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over what it describes as “systematic and deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists”, with dozens killed despite prior coordination of their locations with Israeli authorities.
According to Al Jazeera and The Guardian, several high-profile Palestinian journalists — including entire reporting teams — have been killed, leading media freedom advocates to warn that journalism itself is being erased in Gaza. These killings represent not only a tragedy for the press but a direct attack on the global right to truth and accountability.
- Israel-Gaza War — Committee to Protect Journalists
- Attacks on the Press in 2024 — CPJ
- Record number of journalists killed in 2024, Israel mostly responsible: CPJ — Reuters
- Targeted killing of journalists in Gaza sends chilling message — PBS
- Here are the names of the journalists Israel killed in Gaza — Al Jazeera
- Killing of journalists in the Gaza War — Wikipedia
Academics and University Staff:
Estimates vary, but many reporting agencies warn of a systematic targeting of Gaza’s intellectual class. For example, Euro-Med Monitor states that 94 university professors have been killed, alongside hundreds of teachers and thousands of students, and that every university in Gaza has been bombed. (Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor) Middle East Eye similarly reports that since October 2023, 92 professors have been killed and some 4,327 students have died. (Middle East Eye)
- UN Experts – “Deeply Concerned Over Scholasticide in Gaza” (OHCHR, 2024)
- “The Hidden War on Higher Education: Unmasking the Educide in Gaza” – POMEPS Report
- Al Jazeera – “How Israel Has Destroyed Gaza’s Schools and Universities”
- 972 Magazine – “Gaza’s Academia Reduced to Rubble”
Aid Workers:
The loss among humanitarian personnel in Gaza is staggering. According to a recent UNRWA report, more than 330 UNRWA team members have been confirmed killed since the war began. (United Nations+2unrwa.org+2) The United Nations has also noted that in 2024 alone, 126 UN personnel working in Gaza were killed, making it the deadliest year ever recorded for UN staff. (United Nations Geneva) Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch counts at least 318 aid workers killed in Gaza from October 2023 to October 2024 — the highest toll for any single humanitarian crisis. (hrw.org)
The documented facts of mass killing, systematic destruction, and induced famine detailed above form a powerful body of evidence. The 1948 Genocide Convention defines this crime by the ‘intent to destroy’ a group. While a final legal verdict is the domain of courts like the ICJ, the evidence presented here—which mirrors that considered by the ICJ in its finding of a ‘plausible risk of genocide’—compels us to name this crisis for what it is: a genocide in progress.
The Legal Context: Occupation, Blockade, and Resistance
Claim: Occupation since 1967 & Illegal Blockade for 17+ years.
Under international law, the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war — the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza — continue to be regarded as occupied, even despite Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, because Israel retains “effective control” over critical elements such as Gaza’s airspace, maritime access, and border crossings. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently reaffirmed that the occupation remains in force and that Israeli policies in these areas must be judged under the law of occupation. The long-standing blockade of Gaza (in place since 2007) has been repeatedly criticized by the UN, human rights organizations, and independent legal experts as amounting to collective punishment, in violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and basic principles of humanitarian law. (Amnesty International) In fact, the UN Human Rights Council has “demanded that Israel immediately lift its illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment and siege.”
Claim: International law recognizes the right to resistance against occupation.
The principle that peoples under foreign domination or occupation retain rights to self-determination and resistance—including by force—has been affirmed in multiple United Nations resolutions. Notably, General Assembly Resolution 37/43 explicitly “reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples … by all available means, including armed struggle,” as a response to colonial, foreign domination and occupation. The doctrine is contested—particularly over how it reconciles with prohibitions on the use of force and rules of international humanitarian law—but many legal scholars situate the legitimacy of resistance as an inherent corollary of the right to self-determination. (law4palestine.org) Some analysts note that while the UN Charter generally prohibits unilateral use of force, in the context of colonial or occupation settings this has been interpreted as allowing an exception for people’s resistance against illegal occupation.
Jewish and Israeli Voices of Conscience
Amidst claims that criticism of Israel is inherently antisemitic, it is vital to center the powerful voices of Jewish and Israeli scholars, journalists, and activists who courageously condemn the actions of the Israeli state. Their perspectives, rooted in a commitment to universal human rights and historical justice, provide a crucial moral and intellectual framework for understanding the conflict and debunking the myth of a unified “Jewish opinion.” Learning from these figures is a powerful antidote to propaganda.
Visit our page: Profiles in Solidarity
Contact Your Representatives
Holding your elected officials accountable is one of the most direct ways to influence UK policy. Public pressure forces them to represent the will of their constituents. Use the official resources below to find your representatives and demand they call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to arms sales to Israel, and a path to justice for Palestine.
Visit our page: Contact Your Representatives: Guide for all the information you need to effectively reach these officials.