A leading group of genocide scholars has declared Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), chaired by University of Western Australia international law professor Melanie O'Brien, passed a resolution finding "Israel's policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)".
The association also found Israel was committing crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The association said a majority of its voting members supported the resolution, which called on Israel to "immediately cease all acts that constitute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza, including deliberate attacks against and killing of civilians including children; starvation; deprivation of humanitarian aid, water, fuel, and other items essential to the survival of the population; sexual and reproductive violence; and forced displacement of the population".
Of the association's 500 members, 28 per cent took part in the vote. Of those, 86 per cent voted in favour of the resolution.
It also calls on states, which have signed the genocide convention, such as Australia, to ensure they are meeting their obligations in terms of preventing arms sales to Israel and upholding international law.
Israel has repeatedly denied it is committing genocide in Gaza and it is fighting a case brought by South Africa in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
The IAGS said Israel must comply with the provisional measures already ordered by the ICJ, such as allowing adequate food, water, shelter and medicine.
It said Israel's actions in Gaza included multiple crimes and actions that indicate an intent to destroy the Palestinian people in whole or in part.
"The actions of the Israeli government against Palestinians have included torture, arbitrary detention, and sexual and reproductive violence; deliberate attacks on medical professionals, humanitarian aid workers and journalists; and the deliberate deprivation of food, water, medicine, and electricity essential to the survival of the population," the resolution said.
Israel says findings 'an embarrassment'
Some actions — such as killing children and destroying schools, libraries and cultural sites — appeared designed to erase Palestinian identity and eliminate the next generation of Palestinians, the group said.
The IAGS resolution also noted that Hamas and other Palestinian groups that participated in the October 7 attacks committed serious crimes in breach of international law.
Major human rights organisations, including Israel's two leading human rights groups, have already declared Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide.
Israel maintains that its actions in Gaza are in self-defence and targeted at the militant group Hamas.
In response to the ABC, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs labelled the IAGS resolution "an embarrassment to the legal profession and to any academic standard".
"It is entirely based on Hamas's campaign of lies and the laundering of those lies by others. The IAGS did not do the most basic task in research, which is to verify the information. It even manages to misrepresent what the ICJ has said," it said.
"Above all, the IAGS has set a historic precedent — for the first time, 'Genocide Scholars' accuse the very victim of genocide — despite Hamas's attempted genocide against the Jewish people, murdering 1,200 people, raping women, burning families alive, and declaring its goal of killing every Jew."
Professor O'Brien has rejected Israel's self-defence stance, saying: "That justification has really gone out the window."
"I can definitively say that there is no justification for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, not even self-defence," she said.
"When we talk about the concept of self-defence in international law, we still have to apply aspects of international law. There isn't just a blanket right to self-defence.
"That self-defence has to be carried out in a proportionate manner and it also has to be shown to be something carried out from military necessity, neither of which are demonstrated anymore by Israel's actions on the ground in Gaza."
Hamas released a statement saying the IAGS resolution "constitutes a new legal documentation, added to the international reports and testimonies that have documented the genocide our people are enduring in full view of the world".
Previously, Israel's government has said genocide allegations are politicised and intended to prevent the state defending itself.
"The goal is not justice. Israel's enemies weaponise international legal institutions to try and render Israel defenceless," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on April 28.
Israel has called South Africa's case against it in the International Court of Justice "wholly unfounded in fact and law, [and] morally repugnant", saying it "represents an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of the court itself".
'Merciless night in Gaza City'
Air strikes and artillery shelling have echoed through Gaza City since Israel declared it a combat zone last week.
It comes ahead of a planned Israeli military operation to occupy the city, which has drawn international condemnation and protests within Israel.
On Gaza City's outskirts and in the Jabaliya refugee camp, residents have observed explosive-laden robots demolishing buildings.
"Another merciless night in Gaza City," said Saeed Abu Elaish, a Jabaliya-born medic sheltering in the north-western side of the city.
Hospitals in Gaza said at least 31 people were killed by Israeli fire on Monday, more than half of them women and children.
At least 13 people of those killed were in Gaza City, where Israel has carried out several previous large-scale raids since Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel to ignite the war on October 7, 2023.
Israel says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militant group — now largely reduced to a guerrilla organisation — operates in densely populated areas.
The war between Hamas and Israel was sparked when the militant group entered Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking a further 251 hostage.
A total of 63,557 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says another 160,660 people have been wounded.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up around half the dead.
ABC/wires
Editor's note 02/09/2025: An earlier version of this story said "the association said 86 per cent of its 500 members voted in favour of the resolution". This has been updated to clarify that it was 86 per cent of voting members who supported the resolution, not 86 per cent of all 500 members.
