A United Nations commission investigating the war in Gaza said Tuesday that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians, the panel’s most sweeping findings yet about the Israeli government’s conduct in the conflict. In earlier reports, the commission found that Israel had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in its war with Hamas militants, but stopped short of declaring it genocide. But on Tuesday, report by the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, said Israel had committed four of the five “genocidal acts” defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention: killing members of a group, inflicting serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately creating conditions of life aimed at physical destruction, and imposing measures to prevent births. The three-member panel is headed by former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay. “The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza,” said Pillay, a former judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She said “responsibility for the atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons.” The panel named Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant among those who incited or oversaw the actions. The report, based on months of investigation, cited the death toll from Israel’s nearly two-year war in Gaza, its “total siege” blocking aid, the collapse of the healthcare system, and the direct targeting of children as evidence of genocidal intent. Israel dismissed the findings as politically motivated and antisemitic. The Foreign Ministry called it a “distorted and false report,” accusing the commission of acting as “Hamas proxies.” Genocide accusations are especially sensitive in Israel, a state created after the Holocaust, which continues to shape its national identity. Chris Sidoti, one of the commissioners, said Israeli citizens had been “betrayed” by their leaders, accusing the government of manipulating the trauma of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks to justify a “genocidal war” that endangered hostages and Israel’s own security. While the Human Rights Council cannot directly sanction countries, its findings could bolster ongoing proceedings at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, where South Africa has filed a genocide case against Israel. Other countries, including Spain, Mexico, and Libya, have moved to join that case. Pillay urged governments not to remain silent. “When clear signs and evidence of genocide emerge, the absence of action to stop it amounts to complicity,” she said.