One of Israel's foremost human rights organisations has joined the chorus of similar international groups in designating the Israel's actions in Gaza as a genocide.

"It's almost impossible to comprehend, but for nearly two years, Israel has been committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. As Israelis and Palestinians who live here, and who are exposed daily to testimonies and lived reality, it is our duty to speak the honest and whole truth," B'Tselem said earlier this week.

Since B'Tselem's inception in 1989, it has been documenting, researching and publishing statistics, testimonies, video footage, position papers and reports on human rights violations committed by Israel in the Palestinian territories. 

"Genocide is the destruction of humanity. It is not just killing en masse, but rather total destruction: erasing entire cities, forcibly displacing people, starving them—all of which Israel has done. From the outset, government officials and military commanders explicitly declared that these actions, this policy, were exactly what they intended to do: to starve, to eliminate, to raze Gaza to the ground."

"The horrors of October 7th and Hamas' heinous attack triggered a deep sense of existential fear among Israelis. These very feelings are being exploited by the Israeli government to advance an agenda of Jewish supremacy, destruction, and expulsion. The lives of all Palestinians from the river to the sea have been rendered disposable, and the situation is only getting worse. People are being shot dead while trying to obtain food, and children are dying of hunger," B'Tselem said in their statement.

"We will not be able to say, 'We did not know.'"

"In our new report, we present facts, data and testimonies that demonstrate how Israel is systematically destroying Palestinian society in Gaza through creating catastrophic living conditions that make continued existence impossible. This, precisely, is the definition of genocide."

"Throughout history, most nations that committed genocide did not comprehend the meaning of their actions in real time. And every genocide has always been justified by the people who carried it out. Often, it's a story of self-defense against an existential threat, of a war with no alternative, of the victims ‘bringing it upon themselves.' But there is no justification for genocide—not "defense," not "security," and not even the crimes of October 7th," the B'Tselem team said.

"The report we are publishing today is a warning: The ideology driving the Israeli regime is not confined to the Gaza Strip. The same regime, the same army, and the same leaders and generals are implementing practices of extreme violence in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and within Israel. Israel is already replicating some of its destructive methods in the West Bank – for now, on a smaller scale – and there is grave and growing concern that the genocide may expand to other areas under Israeli control."

"The international community has failed in its role thus far, making leaders of the Western world – particularly in the United States and Europe – also responsible for the atrocities. It is the international community's duty to use every tool available under international law to stop the genocide Israel is perpetrating in Gaza," B'Tselem said.

"We called this report "Our Genocide" because it was written, first and foremost, from our perspective. Some of us are Palestinians who live under the Israeli regime that is responsible for the erasure, loss and suffering of our people. Others are Jewish Israelis who live in a country that's committing the worst crime humankind is capable of. But all of us, Palestinian and Jewish colleagues, are human rights defenders, and even before that, children of this place. Together, we are fighting for the right to live here in a just society between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, in peace, safety, and justice for us all."

"This is a difficult moment, but we believe it is our duty to speak the truth from within the catastrophe. To call it by its name. To fight and demand: Stop the genocide. Now," B'Tselem said

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