Israel's warfare in Gaza is "consistent with the characteristics of genocide," with mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians there, the UN Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices said in a new report released Nov. 14. "Since the beginning of the war, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life—food, water, and fuel," the Committee said. "These statements along with the systematic and unlawful interference of humanitarian aid make clear Israel's intent to instrumentalise life-saving supplies for political and military gains."

The UN Human Rights Office released a report Nov. 8 detailing six months of war in Gaza from November 2023 to April 2024, denouncing the "horrific" suffering inflicted by Israel as well as Palestinian armed groups, and warning of potential crimes against humanity. In an accompanying release, the UN rights chief Volker Türk urged Israel to comply with international law. He warned that there would be a "due reckoning with respect to allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies…"

The Commission of Detainees & Ex-Detainee Affairs, a Palestinian prisoner rights organization, and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club reported in statements on Oct. 28 that Israeli prison staff have brutally assaulted Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian political leader and member of the Central Committee of Fatah.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned Oct. 25 that "the darkest moment of the Gaza conflict is unfolding in the north of the Strip." Calling for urgent action by the international community, Türk stated: "Unimaginably, the situation is getting worse by the day. The Israeli Government's...practices in northern Gaza risk emptying the area of all Palestinians. We are facing what could amount to...crimes against humanity." Türk asserted that under the Geneva Convention, member states have "an obligation to act when a serious violation of international humanitarian law has been committed."

In Episode 248 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg examines the New York Times coverage of the ugly turn in the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, and warns against the targeting of Jews in the guise of a misguided supposed "anti-Zionism." The ongoing genocide in Gaza urgently demands protest, but just as urgently demands tactically and analytically astute protest that does not play into the cynical weaponization of the accusation of anti-Semitism by Zionist propaganda. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

A UN report released Oct. 11 documented Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities and medical personnel in the Gaza Strip in violation of international human rights law, calling the attacks war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report—written by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel—also condemned Israeli treatment of detainees, citing instances of abuse, torture, sexual assault, and arbitrary detention.

A joint media report has led Dutch prosecutors to consider a criminal case concerning claims that Israeli intelligence officials have interfered with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into alleged crimes in occupied Palestine, The Guardian confirmed on Oct. 8. The Guardian and the Israeli publications +972 Magazine and Local Call jointly investigated what they allege are nine years of illegal surveillance and intimidation of the ICC prosecutor's office since a preliminary inquiry was opened into the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2015.

UN officials on Sept. 26 warned of a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis in Lebanon as death tolls mount from Israeli air-strikes. Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council:  "Hell is breaking loose in Lebanon and we should all be alarmed by the escalation." The warnings came just as Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu arrived in New York for the UN General Assembly. Human Rights Watch one day earlier called for urgent UN action, reporting that some 1,600 Israeli strikes have killed at least 558 people, including 50 children, and injured thousands in the span of two days. The UN's Refugee Agency revealed that some 90,000 Lebanese residents had been displaced in the span of 72 hours.