By Elham Asaad Buaras
London, (The Muslim News): The United Nations’ top investigators have warned that Israel is pursuing policies amounting to genocidal intent, as world leaders at the UN voiced alarm over Gaza’s worsening humanitarian catastrophe and a humanitarian flotilla reported harassment by Israeli drones in international waters. South Africa pressed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to rule that genocide is being committed, Qatar warned of Israeli ambitions to dominate the Arab region, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the conflict had entered one of its “darkest chapters”. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported tens of thousands of dead since October 2023, with hospitals on the brink of collapse amid relentless bombardments and ground operations.
UN COMMISSION OF INQUIRY REPORT
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel said in its latest report that Israel had shown a “clear and consistent” intent to forcibly transfer Palestinians, expand Jewish settlement, and annex the entirety of the West Bank, thereby blocking the possibility of a future Palestinian state.
The commission found that since October 2023, Israel has “extensively and systematically” demolished civilian infrastructure in Gaza to carve out buffer zones and corridors, extending its control over three-quarters of the territory by July 2025. It accused Israel of inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy Palestinians in Gaza — “an underlying act of genocide.”
Commission chair Navi Pillay condemned recent Israeli government moves as further proof of intent. “I am particularly appalled by the Israeli Finance Minister (Bezalel) Smotrich’s recently announced plan of annexing 82 percent of the occupied West Bank and by the approval of a plan cementing the E1 settlement expansion, with Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu asserting that this will ensure there will be no Palestinian State,” she said. “Israeli encroachment into the entirety of the West Bank and the dispossession and relocation of multiple Palestinian communities are now explicit goals, which Israeli officials proudly boast about. These measures are abhorrent and must be condemned widely.”
The report also detailed Israeli military operations in the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps in early 2025 that destroyed homes and displaced residents. While some demolished buildings were labelled “terrorist homes”, investigators concluded the actions were not militarily justified and amounted to collective punishment.
UN AND INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS
At the UN General Assembly, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged the ICJ to act decisively. “South Africa has acted in the interests of saving lives by insisting that the International Court of Justice should make a ruling that indeed genocide is being committed in Gaza and that it should stop,” he said. He stressed the international community bore “the ultimate responsibility to ensure and protect the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”
Pretoria launched its case against Israel in December 2023 under the Genocide Convention. Since then, the ICJ has ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocide. Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Türkiye, Chile, and Ireland are among the countries seeking to intervene in the proceedings.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani warned that Netanyahu “dreams of turning the Arab region into an Israeli sphere of influence.” He branded Israel a “rogue state” and said international failure to confront its actions was tantamount to “allowing the law of the jungle to prevail.” He stressed that peace could only be achieved through recognition of Palestinian statehood, praising recent recognitions and urging more nations to follow suit.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council that the conflict was now in one of its most harrowing phases. “We are confronting one of the darkest chapters of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” he said. “The Israeli military onslaught in Gaza City is compounding an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.”
His remarks echoed growing alarm among world leaders, including Ramaphosa and Tamim, who pressed for urgent international action to halt the violence and secure Palestinian rights.
ON THE GROUND IN GAZA
The Gaza Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that at least 65,419 Palestinians have been killed and 167,160 injured since Israel’s campaign began in October 2023. In the past 24 hours alone, 85 Palestinians were killed and 190 wounded. Officials warned that many victims remained trapped under rubble, while fuel shortages could shut down vital hospital departments within days, placing patients at risk of “certain death”.
Gaza’s Civil Defense said in a statement that 22 people, including nine children and six women, were killed, and many others were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted displaced civilians in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City.
Israeli strikes intensified across Gaza City, killing at least 36 on Monday. A high-rise in central Gaza City was bombed, leaving four dead and others trapped. Another strike in the Shati refugee camp killed five, while 16 more died in separate attacks. In the southern districts of Tel Hawa and Sabra, Israeli forces detonated buildings with booby-trapped vehicles, causing widespread devastation. A strike on a car in Tel Hawa killed one person.
In central Gaza, a strike on a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in Zuwaida killed two, while artillery shelling struck the Al-Maghazi camp and Khan Younis. Off the coast of Khan Younis, Israeli fire killed two fishermen. Gunfire also killed three people waiting for aid in the Miraj area and two more southeast of the city. Witnesses reported that Israel had reinforced its presence in several neighbourhoods of Gaza City by deploying an additional armoured division.
GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA
A humanitarian flotilla attempting to challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza reported harassment by Israeli drones on Tuesday. The Global Sumud Flotilla said more than 15 drones flew at low altitude over its ships, particularly the vessel Alma, for several hours.
“We believe these drones are intended to intimidate, potentially gathering intelligence for Israel,” the group said on X. The convoy, which includes dozens of boats carrying aid, remains in international waters en route to Gaza.
More than 300 illegal Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday, the second consecutive day of mass incursions during the Jewish New Year holiday, according to the Islamic Waqf Authority.
In a statement, the Waqf Authority said 328 illegal settlers entered the flashpoint site in the morning hours under heavy Israeli police protection and performed religious rituals, adding that further groups were expected after midday prayers.
Extremist Jewish groups had called for large-scale incursions during the three-day holiday, which began Monday and ends Wednesday.
On the two previous days, a total of 843 illegal settlers stormed the mosque compound, conducting prayers, rituals, and special dances on the eastern side of the site.
[Photo: Displaced Palestinians take shelter in makeshift tents and out-of-service buses as they struggle to survive under harsh conditions in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on September 24, 2025. Following intensified Israeli ground attacks and forced displacement, population density has surged in the central city. Photojournalist: Mohammed Nassar/AA]
