Overview

• Liliana Segre has warned that describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide serves as a vengeful response and undermines the term’s legal and historical weight.
• Edith Bruck called the Gaza offensive a terrifying massacre but said equating it to genocide risks trivializing the Shoah and argued that recognizing Palestinian statehood is essential to break the cycle of hatred.
• Human rights groups and international scholars, including B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, assert that at least four of the Convention on Genocide’s five criteria are met in Gaza.
• The International Court of Justice is reviewing formal genocide allegations against Israel following legal submissions by states and non-governmental organizations.
• Debate over the term carries broader political stakes, influencing Israel’s global moral standing and fueling discussions in European capitals over Palestinian recognition.