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Amnesty International accused the State of Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza war, in a report released Thursday that Israeli authorities angrily deny.

The London-based rights group said it reached the conclusion after months of reviewing the incidents and statements by Israeli officials. The AI ​​stated that reached the legal threshold of a crimewhen first identifying this type during an active armed conflict.

The 1948 Genocide Convention, adopted after the mass murder of Jews during the Nazi Holocaust, defines it as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”

Israel has repeatedly rejected any accusations of genocide, saying it respects international law and right to defend oneself following a Hamas cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which precipitated the war.

“The sad and fanatical organization Amnesty International has once again prepared a fabricated report that is completely false and based on lies,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on social network X.

AI’s own subsidiary in Israel distanced itself from the findings of its parent group, saying it was not involved in the investigation and doesn’t believe Israel is committing genocide. However, in a statement he said the carnage and destruction in the Gaza Strip had reached “horrifying levels” and called for an investigation into possible crimes against humanity.

Israel launched an air and ground war in the Gaza Strip after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities across the border 14 months ago, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages in Gaza, according to Israel’s count.

“The genocidal massacre of October 7, 2023 was carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas against Israeli citizens,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli military campaign since then it has killed more than 44,500 Palestinians and injured thousands of others.

Palestinian and UN officials say there are no safe areas left in Gaza, a tiny, densely populated and highly urbanized coastal territory. Most 2.3 million Gazans displacedsome up to 10 times.

In Gaza on Thursday, some Palestinians attending funerals for loved ones killed in Israeli military strikes the day before were aware of the amnesty report and expressed hope that it would happen. support efforts to hold Israeli leaders accountable.

The amnesty application was “Victory for Palestinian diplomacy”said resident Abu Anas Mustafa at a funeral procession in Khan Younis.

“Although this decision by Amnesty International came late,” he added. “Today is the 430th day of the war, and “Israel has been committing mass murder and genocide since the first 10 days of the war.”.

The amnesty report comes just two weeks after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. Both denied the charges.

Presenting the report in The Hague, AI Secretary General Agnès Callamard said the conclusion had not been accepted. “easy, political or preferable“.

“Genocide is happening. “After six months of in-depth and focused research, we have no doubts, not a single doubt,” he said.

AI said it concluded that Israel and its army committed at least three of the five acts prohibited by the 1948 Genocide Convention, namely murder, serious bodily or mental injury and deliberately inflicting living conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of a protected group .

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According to Amnesty, these acts were committed with the intent required by the Convention.100 statements by Israeli officials.

“The claim that Israel’s war in Gaza is aimed solely at the elimination of Hamas, and not at the physical destruction of the Palestinians as a national and ethnic group, is a claim that simply does not stand up to scrutiny.”

(Reuters)