As of Tuesday, September 16, 2025, Israel has begun an offensive ground attack on Gaza City, just a few hours after an Independent United Nations inquiry concluded that Israel has been committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for the past two years since October 2023. According to Al Jazeera, at least 106 civilians have been killed by Israel since the ground invasion, with Israeli troops pressing deeper and deeper into the densely populated city, with over half of the population being children.
Navi Pillay, chairwoman of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, has reportedly stated that they have identified President Issac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former minister of defensive Yoav Gallant, guilty of genocide. The UN commission has also concluded that Israel has carried out four of the five methods of genocide cited by the convention.
The report stated that Israel has killed members of the group [Palestinians]; caused serious bodily harm or mental harm to the members of the group; deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and imposing measures to intended to prevent births within the group. The UN also used public statements of Israeli officials as further proof of intent to destroy the Palestinian people. However, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs has denied these conclusions vehemently, declaring them “fake” and that the UN commission is acting as “Hamas proxies.”
Despite the denial, it has been confirmed that Israel has forced about 350,000 people, 40% of Gaza residents, to flee south due to the mass destruction of buildings, and forced to leave trapped relatives under the rubble or abandon them, with entire neighborhoods flattened. The UN human rights office has condemned this act as “tantamount to ethnic cleansing.” The UN, as well as representatives of several other countries hold a similar stance, including Israel’s own allies. Johann Wadephul, the German Foreign Minister, has reportedly called Israel’s escalation, “A step in the completely wrong direction.”
The new foreign minister of the UK, Yvette Cooper, has also stated the assault will, “only bring more bloodshed.” The criticism has come not only from foreign countries, but also inside Israel as well. Israeli Human Rights organizations such as Gisha, Adalah, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel have declared any evacuation of Gaza is equivalent to forced displacement. More information on Israel’s plans for Gaza after the bombardment inevitably stops has also been released to the press, with the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly calling Gaza a potential real estate “bonanza” and that they have already started negotiations with President Trump on the topic of re-occupying the city and rebuilding it for themselves, according to The Times of Israel.
The ongoing assault upon Gaza has received mass condemnations, not only from protesters, news outlets, and country representatives, but also from students at Eleanor Roosevelt as well. Caeser Hernandez, a freshman, said that “The innocent kids and people in Gaza shouldn’t have to be killed or go through all that pain.” Although the masses hold a diverse stance on the wider topic of Israel and Palestine, it is clear that the vast majority outside of Israel want a ceasefire in the Gaza strip and for the Israeli Forces to leave Gaza permanently, although despite the public decision of the UN, it does not seem like any trial or action against Israel will occur soon, with President Trump already seeking approval from Congress to send 6 billion dollars’ worth of weapons to Israel.
