July 28 (UPI) -- Israel is committing genocide in Gaza due to both military action and creating "catastrophic conditions" that increase the huge death toll, including the destruction of its health care system, two Israeli human rights groups said Monday.
B'Tselem said serious harm to the entire population, large-scale destruction of infrastructure and living conditions, destruction of the social fabric, abuse of detainees held without trial, forced mass displacement, including attempts at ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza, and undermining efforts of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency were "unequivocal" proof.
"An examination of Israel's policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack, leads to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip. In other words: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians," the group said in a report.
"It is a clear and explicit attempt to destroy Palestinian society in Gaza and create catastrophic living conditions that prevent the continued existence of this society in Gaza. That is precisely the definition of genocide."
