Expressions of Genocidal Intent against the Palestinian People by Israeli State Officials and Others
Evidence of Israeli State officials’ specific intent (‘dolus specialis’) to commit and persist in
committing genocidal acts or to fail to prevent them has been significant and overt since October 2023. Those statements of intent — when combined with the level of killing, maiming, displacement and destruction on the ground, together with the siege — evidence an unfolding and continuing genocide. They include statements by the following individuals in the positions of the highest responsibility:
— Prime Minister of Israel: On 7 October 2023, in a televised address by the Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to “operate forcefully everywhere”. On 13 October 2023, he confirmed that “[w]e are striking our enemies with unprecedented might . . .”.440 On 15 October 2023, when Israeli airstrikes had already killed over 2,670 Palestinians, including 724 children,441 the Prime Minister stated that Israeli soldiers “understand the scope of the mission” and stand ready “to defeat the bloodthirsty monsters who (59) have risen against [Israel] to destroy us”.
♤♡◇♧
435 UN OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #44 (19 November 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-44; UN OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #48 (23 November 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flashupdate-48. 436 “Abandoned babies found decomposing in Gaza hospital weeks after it was evacuated”, NBC News (2 December 2023),
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/abandoned-babies-found-decomposing-gaza-hospital-evacuated-rcna127533. 437 WHO, Women and newborns bearing the brunt of the conflict in Gaza, UN agencies warn (3 November 2023), https://www.who.int/news/item/03-11-2023-women-and-newborns-bearing-the-brunt-of-the-conflict-in-gaza-un-agencieswarn. 438 UN Press Release, Women bearing the brunt of Israel-Gaza conflict: UN expert (20 November 2023),
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/women-bearing-brunt-israel-gaza-conflict-un-expert (emphasis added). 439 Prime Minister of Israel, @IsraeliPM, Tweet (10:31 pm, October 7, 2023),
https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1710769906373775373. 440 Address by the Prime Minister of Israel, (13 October 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4HXaZ20M6Q. Translation in “‘Only the beginning’ says Netanyahu as Israel makes first raids into Gaza”, Reuters (13 October 2023),https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/now-is-time-war-says-israels-military-chief-2023-10-12/. 441 UNICEF, Immediate Needs Document in the State of Palestine (October – December 2023) (17 October 2023), https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/immediate-needs-document-state-palestine-october-december2023. (Total as of 17:45, 15 October 2023; children as of 12:00, 14 October 2023).
442 On 16 October 2023, in a formal address to the
Israeli Knesset, he described situation as “a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle”,443 a dehumanising theme to which he returned on various occasions, including: on 3 November 2023, in a letter to Israeli soldiers and officers also published on the platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter); the letter asserted
that: “[t]his is the war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness. We will not let up on
our mission until the light overcomes the darkness — the good will defeat the extreme evil that
threatens us and the entire world.”444 The Israeli Prime Minister also returned to the theme in
his ‘Christmas message’, stating: “we’re facing monsters, monsters who murdered children in
front of their parents . . . This is a battle not only of Israel against these barbarians, it’s a battle
of civilization against barbarism”.445 On 28 October 2023, as Israeli forces prepared their land
invasion of Gaza, the Prime Minister invoked the Biblical story of the total destruction of
Amalek by the Israelites, stating: “you must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our
Holy Bible. And we do remember”.446 The Prime Minister referred again to Amalek in the letter
sent on 3 November 2023 to Israeli soldiers and officers.447 The relevant biblical passage reads
as follows: “Now go, attack Amalek, and proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but
kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses”.448
— President of Israel: On 12 October 2023, President Isaac Herzog made clear that Israel
was not distinguishing between militants and civilians in Gaza, stating in a press conference to
foreign media — in relation Palestinians in Gaza, over one million of whom are children: “It’s
an entire nation out there that is responsible. It’s not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware
not involved. It’s absolutely not true. … and we will fight until we break their backbone.”449
On 15 October 2023, echoing the words of Prime Minister Netanyahu, the President told foreign
media that “we will uproot evil so that there will be good for the entire region and the world.”450
The Israeli President is one of many Israelis to have handwritten ‘messages’ on bombs to be
dropped on Gaza.451
— Israeli Minister of Defence: On 9 October 2023, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in an
Israeli Army ‘situation update’ advised that Israel was “imposing a complete siege on Gaza. No
electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and
442 Israel Prime Minister’s Office, PM Netanyahu asks Ministers to Rise for a Moment of Silence (15 October 2023),
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/spoke-start151023 (emphasis added).
443 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Press Release: Excerpt from PM Netanyahu's remarks at the opening of the Winter
Assembly of the 25th Knesset's Second Session, 16 October 2023, https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/excerpt-from-pm-
netanyahu-s-remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-knesset-s-winter-assembly-16-oct-2023.
444 Prime Minister’s Office in Hebrew, @IsraeliPM_heb (11:44 am, November 3, 2023),
https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM_heb/status/1720406469055500583.
445 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christmas message from PM Netanyahu, 24 December 2023,
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/christmas-message-from-pm-netanyahu-24-dec-2023.
446 Address by the Prime Minister of Israel, 28 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIPkoDk6isc. Translation
in, “Israel-Hamas war: 'We will fight and we will win', says Benjamin Netanyahu”, Sky News (28 October 2023),
https://news.sky.com/video/israel-hamas-war-we-will-fight-and-we-will-win-says-benjamin-netanyahu-12995212.
447 Prime Minister’s Office in Hebrew, @IsraeliPM_heb, Tweet (11:43 am November 3, 2023),
https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM_heb/status/1720406463972004198.
448 Sefaria, I Samuel 15:1-34, JPS, 1985, https://www.sefaria.org/I_Samuel.15.1-34?lang=bi.
449 Rageh Omaar, “Israeli president Isaac Herzog says Gazans could have risen up to fight ‘evil' Hamas’”, ITV News (13
October 2023), https://www.itv.com/news/2023-10-13/israeli-president-says-gazans-could-have-risen-up-to-fight-hamas.
450 President of the State of Israel, @Isaac_Herzog, Tweet (10 pm, October 15, 2023),
https://twitter.com/Isaac_Herzog/status/1713661051986678189.
451 President of the State of Israel, @Isaac_Herzog, Tweet (5:16 pm, December 25, 2023),
https://twitter.com/Isaac_Herzog/status/173933430267074594.
60we are acting accordingly.”452 He also informed troops on the Gaza border that he had “released
all the restraints”,453 stating in terms that: “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will
eliminate everything. If it doesn’t take one day, it will take a week. It will take weeks or even
months, we will reach all places.”454 He further announced that Israel was moving to “a full-
scale response” and that he had “removed every restriction” on Israeli forces.455
— Israeli Minister for National Security: On 10 November 2023, Itamar Ben-Gvir
clarified the government’s position in a televised address, stating: “[t]o be clear, when we say
that Hamas should be destroyed, it also means those who celebrate, those who support, and
those who hand out candy — they’re all terrorists, and they should also be destroyed.”456
— Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure: ‘Tweeting’ on 13 October 2023, Israel
Katz stated: “All the civilian population in Gaza is ordered to leave immediately. We will win.
They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world.”457 On 12
October 2023, he ‘tweeted’: “Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be turned on,
no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are
returned home. Humanitarianism for humanitarianism. And no one will preach us morality.”458
— Israeli Minister of Finance: On 8 October 2023, Bezalel Smotrich stated at a meeting
of the Israeli Cabinet that “[w]e need to deal a blow that hasn’t been seen in 50 years and take
down Gaza.”459
— Israeli Minister of Heritage: On 1 November 2023, Amichai Eliyahu posted on
Facebook: “The north of the Gaza Strip, more beautiful than ever. Everything is blown up and
flattened, simply a pleasure for the eyes … We must talk about the day after. In my mind, we
will hand over lots to all those who fought for Gaza over the years and to those evicted from
Gush Katif” [a former Israeli settlement].460 He later argued against humanitarian aid as “[w]e
452 Statement by Yoav Gallant, 9 October 2023, 9 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nxvS9VY-t0.
Translation in Emanuel Fabian, “Defense minister announces ‘complete siege’ of Gaza: No power, food or fuel”, The Times
of Israel (9 October 2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/defense-minister-announces-complete-siege-of-
gaza-no-power-food-or-fuel/.
453 Filmography: Ariel Harmoni, Ministry of Defense, Kipa News, 10 October 2023,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9wx7e4u-xM. Translation in Emanuel Fabian, “Gallant: Israel moving to full offense,
Gaza will never return to what it was”, The Times of Israel (10 October 2023),
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gallant-israel-moving-to-full-offense-gaza-will-never-return-to-what-it-was/.
454 Filmography: Ariel Harmoni, Ministry of Defense, Kipa News, 10 October 2023,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9wx7e4u-xM. Translation in “Israeli Defense Minister Warns Hamas ‘Will Regret’
Deadly Attacks”, Bloomberg (10 October 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtjHcnNB0E8.
455 Bill Hutchinson, “Bombarded by Israeli airstrikes, conditions in Gaza grow more dire as power goes out”, ABC News (12
October 2023), https://abcnews.go.com/International/bombarded-israeli-airstrikes-conditions-gaza-grow-dire-
power/story?id=103899193#:~:text=The%20airstrikes%20were%20launched%20by,have%20been%20hit%20in%20Gaza.
456 Interview with Itamar Ben-Gvir on Channel 12, 11 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yRl-cc-D3w
[10:30 onwards]. Translated by Quds News Network, @QudsNen, Tweet (7:28 pm, November 12, 2023),
https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1723784790682358189.
457 Israel Katz, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Member of the Political-Security Cabinet, Member of Knesset,
@Israel_katz, Tweet (6:01 pm, October 13, 2023) https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1712876230762967222.
458 Israel Katz, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Member of the Political-Security Cabinet, Member of Knesset,
@Israel_katz, Tweet (7:34 am, October 12, 2023) https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1712356130377113904. Translation
in “First Thing: no power, water or fuel for Gaza until hostages are freed, Israel says”, The Guardian (12 October 2023),
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/12/first-thing-no-power-water-fuel-gaza-until-hostages-freed-israel-says.
459 “By abducting over 100 people into Gaza, Hamas has put Netanyahu in a political bind”, The Times of Israel (8 October
2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/by-abducting-over-100-people-into-gaza-hamas-has-put-netanyahu-in-a-political-
bind/.
460 Amichai Eliyahu, Facebook Post (1 November 2023), https://www.facebook.com/eliyau.a/videos/148918588283326/.
61wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid”, and “there is no such thing as uninvolved civilians
in Gaza”.461 He also posited a nuclear attack on the Gaza Strip.462
— Israeli Minister of Agriculture: On 11 November 2023, Avi Dichter in a television
interview recalled the Nakba of 1948, in which over 80 percent of the Palestinian population of
the new Israeli State was forced from or fled their homes, stating that “[w]e are now actually
rolling out the Gaza Nakba”.463
— Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and Member of the Foreign Affairs and Security
Committee: On 7 October 2023, Nissim Vaturi ‘tweeted’ that: “[n]ow we all have one common
goal — erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth. Those who are unable will be
replaced.”464
102. Similar statements have been made by Israeli army officials, advisers and spokespersons, and
others engaging with Israeli troops being deployed in Gaza:
— Israeli Army Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (‘COGAT’):
On 9 October 2023, in a video statement addressed to Hamas and Gaza residents, published by
COGAT’s official channel, Major General Ghassan Alian warned: “Hamas became ISIS and
the citizens of Gaza are celebrating instead of being horrified. Human animals are dealt with
accordingly. Israel has imposed a total blockade on Gaza, no electricity, no water, just damage.
You wanted hell, you will get hell.”465
— Israeli Army Reservist Major General, former Head of the Israeli National Security
Council, and adviser to the Defence Minister:466 On 7 October 2023, Giora Eiland, describing
the Israeli order to cut off water and electricity to Gaza, wrote in an online journal: “This is
what Israel has begun to do — we cut the supply of energy, water and diesel to the Strip . . .
But it’s not enough. In order to make the siege effective, we have to prevent others from giving
assistance to Gaza . . . The people should be told that they have two choices; to stay and to
starve, or to leave. If Egypt and other countries prefer that these people will perish in Gaza, this
461 Gili Cohen, Dov Gil-Har, Itay Blumenthal, Sulieman Masvidan, “Minister Amichai Eliyahu: Atomic bomb on Gaza?
This is one of the possibilities”, Kan (5 November 2023), https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/politic/596470/.
Translation in “Far-right minister: Nuking Gaza is an option, population should ‘go to Ireland or deserts’”, The Times of
Israel (5 November 2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/far-right-minister-nuking-gaza-is-an-option-
population-should-go-to-ireland-or-deserts/.
462 Ibid. The radio comment was criticised by the Prime Minister. Prime Minister of Israel, @IsraeliPM, Tweet (8:05 am,
November 5, 2023), https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1721076229518823826. The Prime Minister’s Office announced
that the MK had been suspended from government meetings until further notice, although he reportedly voted in a meeting
later that day. “Netanyahu ‘suspended’ the minister who did not fire an atom bomb on Gaza - even though there is no such
option in the government regulations”, Yedioth Ahronoth (5 November 2023), https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/
rjdl5ebm6).
463 Interview with Avi Dichter on Channel 12. Hanno Hauenstein, @hahauenstein, Tweet (8:42 pm, November 11, 2023),
https://twitter.com/hahauenstein/status/1723441134221869453.
464 Nissim Vaturi, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. Member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, @nissimv,
Tweet (5:33 pm, October 7, 2023) https://twitter.com/nissimv/status/1710694866009596169. Translation in “Public
Statement: Scholars Warn of Potential Genocide in Gaza”, Opinio Juris (18 October 2023),
https://opiniojuris.org/2023/10/18/public-statement-scholars-warn-of-potential-genocide-in-gaza/.
465 Video address by Ghassan Alian, 10 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5a0EWv-o7mE.
466 “Former security officials and strategic advisor: the ‘cabinet’ established by Gallant for himself”, Yedioth Ahronoth (26
October 2023), https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/r1zlcnoga.
62is their choice.”467 On the same day, he asserted in a national newspaper that “[w]hen you are
at war with another country you don't feed them, you don't provide them electricity or gas or
water or anything else . . . A country can be attacked in a much broader way, to bring the
country to the brink of dysfunction. This is the necessary outcome of events” in Gaza.468 He has
repeatedly asserted the benefits for Israel of the creation of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, stating
that “Israel has no interest in the Gaza Strip being rehabilitated and this is an important point
that needs to be made clear to the Americans”,469 and that “[i]f we ever want to see the hostages
alive, the only way is to create a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.470 He has indicated that
water should be targeted, noting that water in Gaza “comes from wells with salt water unfit for
consumption. They have water treatment plants, Israel should hit those plants. When the entire
world says we have gone insane and this is a humanitarian disaster — we will say, it’s not an
end, it’s a means.”471 In a Times radio interview on 12 October 2023, he reiterated the army
should:
“[C]reate such a huge pressure on Gaza, that Gaza will become an area where people
cannot live. People cannot live, until Hamas is destroyed, which means that Israel not
only stops to supply energy, diesel, water, food … as we did in the last twenty years …
but we should prevent any possible assistance by others, and to create in Gaza such a
terrible, unbearable situation, that can last weeks and months”.472
Giora Eiland has repeatedly been given a media platform to call for Gaza to be made
uninhabitable, declaring “the State of Israel has no choice but to make Gaza a place that is
temporarily, or permanently, impossible to live in.”473 In an interview on 6 November 2023, he
suggested that, “if there is an intention for a military action at Shifa [Hospital], which I think is
inescapable, I hope that the head of the CIA got an explanation of why this is necessary, and
why the US must ultimately back even an operation like this, even if there are thousands of
bodies of civilians in the streets afterward.”474 Further he proposed that “Israel needs to create
a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, compelling tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands to
seek refuge in Egypt or the Gulf . . . Gaza will become a place where no human being can
exist.”475 Echoing the words of President Herzog, he has repeatedly underscored that there
should be no distinction between Hamas combatants and Palestinian civilians, saying:
467 Giora Eiland, “A new turning point in the history of the State of Israel. Most people don’t understand that”, Fathom (7
October 2023), https://fathomjournal.org/opinion-a-new-turning-point-in-the-history-of-the-state-of-israel-most-people-dont-
understand-that/ (emphasis added).
468 Giora Eiland, “The state of Gaza has started a war against Israel - and it should be fought accordingly”, Mako (7 October
2023), https://www.mako.co.il/news-columns/2023_q4/Article-fcf787ad0ba0b81027.htm (emphasis added).
469 Interview with Giora Eiland on Kann News, 17 November 2023. Kann News, @kann_news, Tweet (6:42 pm, November
17 2023), https://twitter.com/kann_news/status/1725585143333622129 (emphasis added).
470 Ariel Whitman, “Giora Eiland outlines plan to get hostages back alive”, Globes (8 October 2023),
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-giora-eiland-outlines-plan-to-get-hostages-back-alive-1001459631 (emphasis added).
471 “How should one respond to the massacre of hundreds?”, Yedioth Ahronoth (print) (9 October 2023),
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l5Ow2T0Na20BcoL2yautiobij8ldNsVK/view.
472 How Israel plan to ‘destroy Hamas’ | Major General Giora Eiland, 12 October 2023,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRHz0dZwF2A.
473 Giora Eiland, “This is not revenge. It's either us or them”, Yedioth Ahronoth (10 October 2023),
https://www.ynet.co.il/yedioth/article/yokra13625377 (emphasis added).
474 “Ex-top general: IDF op against Hamas at Shifa Hospital inescapable; US must back it”, The Times of Israel (6
November 2023), https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/ex-top-general-idf-op-against-hamas-at-shifa-hospital-
inescapable-us-must-back-it/ (emphasis added).
475 Giora Eiland, “It's time to rip off the Hamas band-aid”, Yedioth Ahronoth (12 October 2023),
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sju3uabba (emphasis added).
63“Who are the ‘poor’ women of Gaza? They are all the mothers, sisters or wives of Hamas
murderers. On the one hand, they are part of the infrastructure that supports the
organization, and on the other hand, if they experience a humanitarian disaster, then it
can be assumed that some of the Hamas fighters and the more junior commanders will
begin to understand that the war is futile . . . The international community warns us of a
humanitarian disaster in Gaza and of severe epidemics. We must not shy away from this,
as difficult as that may be. After all, severe epidemics in the south of the Gaza Strip will
bring victory closer . . . It is precisely its civil collapse that will bring the end of the war
closer. When senior Israeli figures say in the media ‘It's either us or them’ we should
clarify the question of who is ‘them’. ‘They’ are not only Hamas fighters with weapons,
but also all the ‘civilian’ officials, including hospital administrators and school
administrators, and also the entire Gaza population who enthusiastically supported
Hamas and cheered on its atrocities on October 7th.”476
— Israeli Army reservist “motivational speech”: On 11 October 2023, 95-year old Israeli
army reservist Ezra Yachin — a veteran of the Deir Yassin massacre during the 1948 Nakba —
reportedly called up for reserve duty to “boost morale” amongst Israeli troops ahead of the
ground invasion, was broadcast on social media inciting other soldiers to genocide as follows,
while being driven around in an Israeli army vehicle, dressed in Israeli army fatigues:
“Be triumphant and finish them off and don’t leave anyone behind. Erase the memory of
them. Erase them, their families, mothers and children. These animals can no longer live
. . . Every Jew with a weapon should go out and kill them. If you have an Arab neighbour,
don't wait, go to his home and shoot him . . . We want to invade, not like before, we want
to enter and destroy what’s in front of us, and destroy houses, then destroy the one after
it. With all of our forces, complete destruction, enter and destroy. As you can see, we
will witness things we’ve never dreamed of. Let them drop bombs on them and erase
them.”477
— Head of the Israeli army’s Air Operations Group: On 28 October 2023, Lieutenant
colonel Gilad Kinan described the Air Force as “work[ing] together with all the bodies in the
IDF when the goal is clear — to destroy everything that has been touched by the hand of
Hamas”.478
— Commander in the 2908th Battalion of the Israeli army: In a video posted online on
21 December 2023, Yair Ben David said that the Israeli army had “entered Beit Hanoun and
did there as Shimon and Levi did in Nablus,” and that “[t]he entire Gaza should resemble Beit
Hanoun”, referring to the city in northern Gaza which has been entirely devastated by the Israeli
army..479 The biblical passage in issue reads: “On the third day, when they were in pain, Simeon
476 Giora Eiland, “Let’s not be intimidated by the world”, Yedioth Ahronoth (print) (19 November 2023), in Bezalel
Smotrich, Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Religious Zionist Party, @bezalelsm, Tweet (11:20 am, November 19,
2023), https://twitter.com/bezalelsm/status/1726198721946480911. Translation by Talula Sha, Tweet (19 November 2023),
https://twitter.com/TalulaSha/status/1726267178201362438 (emphasis added).
477 Bazz News, @1717Bazz, Tweet (7:39 pm, October 11, 2023),
https://twitter.com/1717Bazz/status/1712176168823107986. Translation by Middle East Eye, @MiddleEastEye, Tweet (8:48
pm, October 13, 2023), https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1712918166437806294 (emphasis added).
478 Israel Defense Forces, @idfonline, Tweet (6:23 am, October 28, 2023),
https://twitter.com/idfonline/status/1718136442805686351. Informal translation, emphasis added.
479 Yair Ben David, Commander in the 2908th Battalion, statement, 20 December 2023,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK8ZnGKspeI. Translation in “War on Gaza: Israeli commander vows to flatten 'entire'
Gaza Strip”, Middle East Eye (21 December 2023), https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israeli-commander-vows-
flatten-entire-gaza-strip.
64and Levi, two of Jacob’s sons, brothers of Dinah, took each his sword, came upon the city
unmolested, and slew all the males”.480
103. The above statements by Israeli decision-makers and military officials indicate in and of
themselves a clear intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group “as such”. They also constitute clear
direct and public incitement to genocide, which has gone unchecked and unpunished. The clear
inference from the acts of the Israeli army on the ground — including from the vast number of civilians
killed and injured, and the scale of displacement, destruction and devastation wrought in Gaza — is that
those genocidal statements and directives are being implemented against the Palestinian people. That is
also the clear and necessary inference to be drawn from the emerging evidence from Israeli army
soldiers serving in Gaza, including those stationed on the ground:
— Israeli Army Colonel, Deputy Head of COGAT: speaking in a video filmed in Beit
Lahia — one of the areas of Gaza which appears to have suffered particularly severe levels of
destruction — and broadcast on Israeli television on 4 November 2023, Colonel Yogev Bar-
Sheshet stated: “[w]hoever returns here, if they return here after, will find scorched earth. No
houses, no agriculture, no nothing. They have no future;” another Army Colonel recorded in
the same video, Colonel Erez Eshel (Reserve), also commented that: “Vengeance is a great
value. There is vengeance over what they did to us … This place will be a fallow land. They
will not be able to live here”.481
— Israeli army soldiers: Israeli soldiers in uniform have been filmed on 5 December 2023
dancing, chanting and singing “May their village burn, May Gaza be erased”;482 and, two days
later, on a separate occasion inside Gaza on 7 December 2023, dancing, singing and chanting,
“we know our motto: there are no uninvolved civilians” and “to wipe off the seed of Amalek”.483
104. Notably, the second video of soldiers chanting that there are “no uninvolved citizens” in Gaza
and that they will “wipe off the seed of Amalek” was filmed on 7 December 2023. By that date, 17,177
Palestinians in Gaza had been killed — an estimated 70 per cent of whom were women and children.
7-8 December 2023 was particularly devasting for Palestinians, with 350 people killed in the space of
24 hours — approximately one Palestinian in Gaza killed every four minutes.484
105.
This genocidal rhetoric of governmental and military officials is also widespread and
commonplace amongst non-cabinet members of the Israeli Knesset (‘MKs’) who have repeatedly called
480 Genesis 34:25 (NJPS 1985), https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.34.25?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en (emphasis added).
481 Channel 14 segment, 4 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqEj3DzadiM: “Special documentation from
the heart of Gaza: this is how our forces fight deep in enemy territory”, Now 14 (5 November 2023),
https://www.now14.co.il/
מיו - לב ע -כך-כוחותינו-נלחמים
תיעוד- חד מ - זה/.
482 Video of Kobi Peretz with soldiers, 17 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcH2o4c5KZY (emphasis
added).
483 Yinon Magal, @YinonMagal, Tweet (6:44 am, 7 December 2023)
https://twitter.com/YinonMagal/status/1732652279461757102. Translation by Middle East Eye, @MiddleEastEye, Tweet
(1:30 pm, December 8, 2023) https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1733116719668113618 (emphasis added).
484 UN OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #62 (7 December 2023), https://www.unocha.org/
publications/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-62-enar.
65for Gaza to be “wiped out”,485 “flatten[ed]”,486 “eras[ed]”,487
and “[c]rush[ed] . . . on all its
inhabitants”.488 Parliamentarians have publicly deplored anyone “feel[ing] sorry” for the “uninvolved”
Gazans, asserting repeatedly that “there are no uninvolved”,489 that “[t]here are no innocents in Gaza”,490
that “the killers of the women and children should not be separated from the citizens of Gaza”,491 that
“the children of Gaza have brought this upon themselves”,492 and that “there should be one sentence for
everyone there — death”.493 Parliamentarians have stated “[w]e must not forget that even the ‘innocent
citizens’ — the cruel and monstrous people from Gaza took an active part . . . there is no place for any
humanitarian gesture — the memory of Amalek must be protested”,494 and that “[w]ithout hunger and
thirst among the Gazan population, we will not be able to recruit collaborators”.495 Parliamentarians
have also called for “mercilessly” bombing “from the air”,496
calling for the use of nuclear
(“doomsday”) weapons,497 and a “Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of 48”.498
106. Similar genocidal rhetoric is also commonplace in Israeli civil society, with genocidal messages
being routinely broadcast — without censure or sanction — in Israeli media. The media reports call for
Gaza to be “erase[d],”499 turned into a “slaughterhouse”,500 that “Hamas should not be eliminated” but
rather “Gaza should be razed”,501 on the repeated claim that “[t]here are no innocents… There is no
485 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (5:10 pm, October 29, 2023),
https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1718676748542296207.
486 Interview with Katrin “Keti” Shitrit-Peretz on Now 14, 1 November 2023: Now 14, @Now14Israel, Tweet (9:50 pm,
November 1, 2023), https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1719834297832526215; Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet
(10:41 am, October 10, 2023), https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1711678420235534705.
487 Galit Atbaryan, @GalitDistel, Tweet (12:13 pm, November 1, 2023),
https://twitter.com/galitdistel/status/1719689095230730656.
488 Eliyahu Revivo, @revivoeliyahu, Tweet (2:46 pm, November 1, 2023),
https://twitter.com/revivoeliyahu/status/1719727722459508915.
489 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (3:46 pm, December 7, 2023),
https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1732788632430186872.
490 Avigdor Lieberman, @AvigdorLiberman, Tweet (6:45 pm, November 30, 2023),
https://twitter.com/avigdorliberman/status/1730297081959530685 (emphasis added).
491 Interview with Katrin “Keti” Shitrit-Peretz on Now 14, 1 November 2023: Now 14, @Now14Israel, Tweet (9:50 pm,
November 1, 2023), https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1719834297832526215 (emphasis added).
492 Meirav Ben-Ari, Knesset Session, 16 October 2023,
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=3497251110531404 [2:29:57] (emphasis added).
Translation by Jonathan Ofir, “Israeli Politician Says ‘Children of Gaza Have Brought This Upon Themselves’”, Truthout
(18 October 2023), https://truthout.org/articles/israeli-politician-says-children-of-gaza-have-brought-this-upon-themselves/.
493 “MK Yitzhak Kroizer: “The Gaza Strip should be wiped off the map”, Galey Israel (5 November 2023)
https://www.gly.co.il/item?id=30587.
Translation in “Fire Israel’s Far Right”, Haaretz (6 November 2023), https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/2023-11-
06/ty-article/.premium/fire-israels-far-right/0000018b-a11c-dc0b-a1cb-e5de69890000.
494 Boaz Bismuth, @BismuthBoaz, Tweet (8:02 am, October 16, 2023)
https://twitter.com/BismuthBoaz/status/1713812686784311358.
495 Statement by Revital Gottlieb in the Knesset, 23 October 2023: Knesset Channel, @KnessetT, Tweet (6:10 pm, October
23, 2023), https://twitter.com/KnessetT/status/1716502486331113922.
496 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (7:39 am, December 13, 2023),
https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1734840416522948800.
497 Revital Gottlieb, @TallyGotliv, Tweet (5:59 pm, October 9, 2023)
https://twitter.com/TallyGotliv/status/1711426284322996613.
498 Ariel Kallner, @ArielKallner, Tweet (10:29 pm, October 7, 2023),
https://twitter.com/ArielKallner/status/1710769363119141268. Translated in the New Arab: “'Erase Gaza': How genocidal
rhetoric became normalised in Israel”, The New Arab (30 November 2023), https://www.newarab.com/analysis/erase-gaza-
how-genocidal-rhetoric-normalised-israel and informal translation.
499 Interview with Eyal Golan on Now 14, 15 October 2023: Now 14, @Now14Israel, Tweet (1:24 pm, October 15, 2023),
https://twitter.com/Now14Israel/status/1713531211300167928.
500 David Mizrahy Verthaim, @dverthaim, Tweet (4:52 pm, October 7, 2023),
https://twitter.com/dverthaim/status/1710684531114602891.
501 Moshe Feiglin, @moshefeiglin, Tweet (6:16 am, October 12, 2023),
https://twitter.com/moshefeiglin/status/1712336429982846977.
66population. There are 2.5 million terrorists”.502 One local official, reportedly called for Gaza to be “desolate and destroyed” like the Auschwitz Museum, “demonstrating the madness of the people who
lived there”.503 Former MKs have called for a level of destruction akin to that of Dresden and
Hiroshima,504 asserting that it would be “immoral” for the Israeli army not to show themselves to be “vengeful and cruel”.505 In an Israeli news interview, one former MK called for all Palestinians in Gaza to be killed saying:
“I tell you, in Gaza without exception, they are all terrorists, sons of dogs. They must be exterminated, all of them killed. We will flatten Gaza, turn them to dust, and the army will cleanse the area. Then we will start building new areas, for us, above all, for our security.”506
107. Those statements by prominent members of Israeli society — including former
parliamentarians and news anchors — constitute clear direct and public incitement to genocide, which has gone unchecked and unpunished by the Israeli authorities. That such sentiment appears to be so widespread and mainstream in Israeli society is of particular concern, in circumstances where the soldiers serving in Gaza are largely reservists, drawn from and informed by civil society.