UN rapporteur says Israel’s Gaza home demolitions amount to ‘act of genocide’

“Actually, Israel has continued to kill individuals and to demolish homes and then also to deny any aid to come in insufficient quantities," Balakrishnan Rajagopal told Anadolu in an interview.

“So, the ceasefire process has been not at all fully implemented, and unfortunately, there is no mechanism so far for ensuring that the ceasefire that was agreed to would be fully complied with, and that there would be consequences for monitoring.”

He said the current situation in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has killed more than 69,000 people since October 2023 and reduced it to rubble, seems "still not that different from the time before the signing of the ceasefire."

“It's just that the large scale aerial bombing has stopped, so which is actually a relief. So there is some less intensity in terms of aerial bombing, but every other form of destruction and killing and denial of aid is still ongoing, and the territory continues to be under occupation,” Rajagopal said.

He stressed that Israel justifies its destruction of homes in Gaza by claiming they are “military objectives,” yet in nearly all cases “Israeli government has not produced any evidence of that.”

He underlined that in most instances “what you find is the arbitrary and widespread destruction of all housing without any distinction.”

“... which is actually a grave violation of the laws of war, but it's also a crime against humanity, and because of the way in which Israel has been waging a genocide in Gaza, it's also part of an act of genocide, and I've pointed this out many times ... this is actually a very unfortunate situation.”

'Completely contrary to international law'

Rajagopal said most of Israel’s home demolitions have not occurred during active fighting between the parties but rather after Israel had already secured full control over an area.

He noted that Israeli forces often enter a neighborhood, plant bombs or explosives, and then demolish homes, stressing that these demolitions are not part of any legitimate act of war.

“Those acts of demolitions are completely contrary to international law. I've said it many times before. Israel was doing it before the ceasefire, they were doing the same thing ... So it's not surprising at all,” Rajagopal said.

“They continue to commit what I've called many times, including to the (UN) General Assembly, (it's) domicide. Domicide is massive destruction of housing during conflict.’

“We need to really recognize this as an act of war, as an act of genocide, as well as a crime against humanity,” he said.

Highlighting the dire situation of displaced people in Gaza, Rajagopal said more than 288,000 Palestinian families currently lack adequate shelter.

'Threadbare and completely inadequate' shelters

“The shelter that they do have is very threadbare and completely inadequate, and many of them are standing in one to two feet of water. The areas are flooded,” Rajagopal said.

“Winter is setting in, so it's also getting extremely cold. This poses a particular danger to infants and children as well as women and older persons, the threat of diseases, including water borne diseases, is rising very rapidly. So we are in a very critical moment.”

The UN rapporteur said Israel has not granted adequate clearance for the tents and caravans it is obligated to deliver under the 20-point ceasefire plan.

He added that many aid trucks carrying these materials are waiting at the border, but “Israel is not allowing them to come in.”

“The failure to provide shelter is part of a calculated strategy based rail in order to ensure that people wouldn't actually have the protection that they need to feel secure, and therefore would feel a compulsion to keep moving.

“That's really the only way to ensure that Palestine, the part of Palestine, which is Gaza, can be gradually appropriated to be under more and more Israeli control.

“So it's really part of a strategy of annexation, which is very unfortunate that it's allowed to continue like this,” he said.