UN inquiry says Israel kept committing genocide in Gaza after truce
GENEVA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Israel continued to commit genocide in Gaza after last October's US-brokered ceasefire in the enclave, a UN commission said in a report published on Monday that Israel dismissed as part of a "misinformation campaign". The report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel examined violations against Palestinian children since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023 up to September this year.
It said Israeli authorities had kept committing "genocidal acts with the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in Gaza", and that the situation had also continued to deteriorate in the occupied West Bank. Another report by the commission in September last year found that Israel hadcommitted genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu incited these acts — accusations that Israel called scandalous.
The Israeli mission in Geneva said thelatest report was part of a misinformation campaign todemonize the State of Israel. “The attempt to destroy the Jewish state ... continues today through efforts by actors such as the UN Commission of Inquiry to undermine Israel’s legitimacy and deny its fundamental right to exist and defend itself," Ambassador Daniel Meron said in a statement. HEAVY MUNITIONS HIT POPULATED AREAS, COMMISSION SAYS The commission found that Israeli forces continued using heavy munitions, drones, quadcopters, artillery and sniper fire in densely populated areas during the ceasefire in Gaza.
It said the "Yellow Line" which waspresented as a temporary ceasefire demarcation, was encroaching increasingly into Gaza, and becominga de facto border, which the report said reflected Israel’s expanding territorial control of Gaza. Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. In its report to the UN Security Council, the commission said the situation in the West Bank had also deteriorated sharply, with the number of Palestinians killed in airstrikes increasing from six between 2008 and October 6, 2023, to 254 between October 7, 2023 and September 30, 2026.
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article reports Israeli forces using heavy munitions and sniper fire during the ceasefire but gives no count of the people killed. The Independent reported the commission's figure of at least 196 Palestinians, including children, killed by Israeli fire across the advancing front. Without it, a reader sees weapons used but no Palestinian dead.
How we know
- The Independent reported“Israeli fire across the advancing front has killed at least 196 Palestinians”UN-commissioned experts say Gaza ceasefire has not stopped Israel from committing genocide (opens in a new tab)
Commission Chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said the intentional killing of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank formed part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians. Military operations since January 2025 have led to the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967, with 34,176 Palestinians remaining displaced as of August 2026, the report said. The commission also faulted the Palestinian Authority, saying it had targeted Palestinians who voice dissenting views and that journalists and human rights defenders had been killed and injured. (Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, writing by Kirsti Knolle)
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article never reports that the commission also found Israeli soldiers and prison guards responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination, torture, rape and sexual violence, among them six documented cases at Sde Teiman. Without it, a reader thinks the report's findings beyond genocide were limited to airstrikes and displacement.
How we know
- CBC News reported“The commission also accused Israeli soldiers and prison guards of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank, including extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence and persecution against civilians.”UN commission says Israel has continued to commit genocide in Gaza since truce (opens in a new tab)