Charity accuses Israel of genocide – 13 December 2024
Amnesty, a leading global human rights charity, has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinian people in Gaza.
Genocide is the deliberate mass killing of a particular group of people.
Israel is at war with Hamas, a terrorist organisation that runs Gaza. On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a shock attack on Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 more. Since then, Israel has been attacking Gaza and fighting to defeat Hamas.
At least 44,700 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, while many others are suffering without food, clean water and medicine.
Amnesty said that to reach its verdict, it examined the evidence of destruction in Gaza and spoke to Palestinians themselves. One told the charity: “The bombing never stops. You feel like you are subhuman [less than human].”
Israel’s foreign ministry said that Amnesty’s genocide claims were “entirely false and based on lies”.
The local Israeli branch of the charity disagreed, too, but did say: “We are concerned that serious crimes are being committed in Gaza that must be investigated.”
Amnesty has called on countries like the UK and the USA to stop supplying weapons to Israel. The UK is a friend of Israel, but has repeatedly called for an end to the fighting.
