Israel's 'grave violations' against Palestinians 'point to a genocide in making': UN experts

"Grave violations" committed by Israel against Palestinians since Oct. 7 "point to a genocide in the making," a group of independent UN experts said on Thursday.

"They illustrated evidence of increasing genocidal incitement, overt intent to 'destroy the Palestinian people under occupation,' loud calls for a 'second Nakba' in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the use of powerful weaponry with inherently indiscriminate impacts, resulting in a colossal death toll and destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure," the experts said in a statement, referring to the 1948 Nakba, or catastrophe, in which some 750,000 Palestinians were driven off their land.

Underlining that they already raised the alarm about the "risk of genocide in Gaza," the group of experts, made up of seven UN special rapporteurs, said in a statement that they are "deeply disturbed by the failure of (world) governments to heed our call and to achieve an immediate cease-fire."

"We are also profoundly concerned about the support of certain governments for Israel's strategy of warfare against the besieged population of Gaza, and the failure of the international system to mobilize to prevent genocide," they said.

The experts said Israel's "egregious violations cannot be justified in the name of self-defense," and added that the country "cannot wage a war against the population under its belligerent occupation."

"The reality in Gaza, with its unbearable pain and trauma on the survivors, is a catastrophe of enormous proportions," they said.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, including around 7,900 women and children, and over 29,800 others injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have been damaged or destroyed in the Israeli offensive.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at 1,200, according to official figures.