Explained: Is a genocide unfolding in Gaza?

Explained: Is a genocide unfolding in Gaza?

Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack, has killed over 50,500 people, mostly civilians. While Israel maintains it has acted in ‘self defence’, rights groups, lawyers and some governments are describing the Benjamin Netanyahu-led country’s actions as a ‘genocide’. What is a genocide, and who can declare one?

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, as the Israel-Gaza conflict continues, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 4, 2024. File image/Reuters