forces continued committing genocide in Gaza after the October 2025 ceasefire, while carrying out war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank. Its findings, presented to the UN General Assembly, document extensive civilian deaths, the targeting of children, sexual violence and expanding Israeli territorial control. Israel rejects the allegations. The report raises urgent questions about international accountability, the effectiveness of ceasefire agreements and the obligations of governments under international law.
INR Report: Based on RT's reporting of 27 October 2026, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry's report A/81/430 and its official statement of 26 October 2026.
A Ceasefire That Did Not End the Killing
A year after the United States brokered a ceasefire intended to halt Israel's military offensive in Gaza, United Nations investigators have concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces continued carrying out acts of genocide against the Palestinian population.
The findings were released on 26 October 2026 by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. The commission examined killings, serious bodily and mental harm, military operations and the conduct of security forces between October 2023 and September 2026.
Its conclusions extend beyond allegations of individual unlawful attacks. Investigators determined that Israeli authorities and forces continued committing genocidal acts with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, in whole or in part.
That finding is significant because the legal definition of genocide requires more than establishing that civilians were unlawfully killed. It requires evidence of prohibited acts accompanied by the specific intent to destroy a protected national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
The commission concluded that the necessary intent remained present even after the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025.
Israel has rejected the findings, maintaining that its military operations are directed against Hamas and other security threats rather than the Palestinian population as such.
More Than 1,400 Palestinians Killed After the Ceasefire
According to the commission's report, 1,431 Palestinians were killed in Gaza between the commencement of the October 2025 ceasefire and 30 September 2026.
Among those killed were at least 300 children and 130 women. A further 5,026 people were reported injured.
Investigators documented continued airstrikes, artillery attacks, drone operations and gunfire, including incidents in densely populated civilian areas.
The commission examined a series of Israeli strikes conducted on 28 and 29 October 2025, shortly after the ceasefire began. Palestinian health authorities reported that 104 people were killed, including 46 children and 20 women, and 253 others were injured.
Israeli military statements identified some of those killed as members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad and maintained that the designated targets were associated with militant activity.
The commission examined the locations and circumstances of the attacks, including their proximity to residential neighbourhoods, as part of its assessment of civilian protection and compliance with international humanitarian law.
These findings challenge the proposition that the ceasefire brought an effective end to large-scale military violence.
A ceasefire may reduce the overall intensity of hostilities without eliminating unlawful attacks. However, where investigators conclude that prohibited acts and genocidal intent persist, the existence of a ceasefire agreement does not resolve the underlying legal questions.
Israeli Territorial Control Expands Inside Gaza
The commission also identified the expansion of Israeli-controlled territory as a major factor contributing to civilian deaths and displacement.
Under the October 2025 ceasefire arrangements, Israeli forces initially controlled approximately 53% of Gaza, with a temporary demarcation commonly referred to as the Yellow Line separating areas under Israeli military control from the remainder of the territory.
The commission reported that Israeli-controlled areas had subsequently expanded to at least 60% of Gaza.
Investigators warned that the Yellow Line was increasingly functioning as a territorial boundary rather than a temporary military separation line.
Palestinians approaching or crossing the line were exposed to potentially lethal military action, with the commission documenting deaths and injuries associated with the expanding area of Israeli control.
This raises a question extending beyond the immediate conduct of military operations.
If temporary ceasefire boundaries become progressively entrenched, they may alter the practical control of territory before any internationally recognised political settlement has been reached.
The commission linked the expansion of territorial control to its broader findings concerning displacement, civilian harm and the destruction of Palestinian life.
Israel maintains that its security arrangements are necessary to prevent renewed attacks by Hamas and other armed groups.
The legal question is whether those arrangements comply with the laws of occupation, international humanitarian law and the Palestinian population's right to self-determination.
West Bank: Crimes Against Humanity Alleged
The commission's findings concerning the occupied West Bank are particularly serious.
Investigators concluded that Israeli military operations, supported by sustained settler violence, constituted a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population following 7 October 2023.
The report found that Israeli authorities and security forces committed crimes against humanity, including extermination, persecution, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence.
These are findings of the independent commission, not final criminal convictions issued by an international court.
The commission nevertheless based its conclusions on investigated incidents, documented patterns of conduct, testimony and its assessment of the relevant international legal standards.
Between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2026, the report recorded 1,080 Palestinians killed and 10,940 injured by Israeli forces in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Of particular concern was the sharp increase in deaths caused by airstrikes.
The commission recorded six Palestinians killed by airstrikes in the West Bank between 2008 and 6 October 2023. Between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2026, that number rose to 254.
The scale of the increase was cited as evidence of a substantial change in the conduct of Israeli military operations.
Children, Detention and Sexual Violence
The commission documented incidents in which Palestinian children were deliberately killed or seriously injured, concluding that Israeli security practices included discriminatory targeting based on age as well as nationality and ethnicity.
Investigators also examined the treatment of Palestinian detainees, including allegations of rape, torture, reproductive violence and other forms of sexual abuse.
The report concluded that the investigated incidents were not isolated events but formed part of a broader pattern of conduct directed against Palestinians.
It described sexual violence as a means of humiliation, coercion, displacement and domination.
These findings require careful distinction between documented allegations, the commission's conclusions and individual criminal responsibility.
The commission has authority to investigate and assess violations of international law, but it does not conduct criminal trials or issue binding convictions against individual perpetrators.
Its findings may, however, contribute to investigations by international or domestic judicial authorities.
The report also criticised the Palestinian Authority for abuses against Palestinians, including the targeting of journalists, human rights defenders and political dissenters, and called for independent investigations and remedies for victims.
Israel Rejects the Commission's Findings
Israel has strongly rejected the report and the commission's conclusions.
Its diplomatic mission in Geneva accused the investigators of conducting a campaign intended to undermine Israel's legitimacy and portray its military operations as criminal.
Israeli Ambassador Daniel Meron challenged the commission's impartiality and called for its dissolution.
Israel maintains that its military campaign followed the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023, during which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
The Israeli government argues that its military operations are necessary to protect its population, dismantle Hamas's military capabilities and prevent further attacks.
Those security claims are relevant to understanding Israel's stated objectives, but they do not remove the obligations imposed by international humanitarian law.
The laws governing armed conflict require parties to distinguish between civilians and combatants, prohibit intentionally targeting civilians and impose restrictions on attacks expected to cause excessive civilian harm.
The prohibition of genocide is separate and requires consideration of the specific intent to destroy a protected group.
Israel disputes the commission's conclusions on both the conduct of its operations and the alleged genocidal intent.
What Makes the UN Findings Legally Significant?
The commission's latest report builds on its September 2025 conclusion that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.
That earlier investigation assessed Israeli conduct against the definition established by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The October 2026 report concludes that genocidal acts continued after the ceasefire, adding further evidence to the commission's existing findings.
However, an important legal distinction remains.
A UN Commission of Inquiry is an independent investigative body established through the United Nations human rights system. Its findings carry evidentiary and institutional significance, but they are not equivalent to a final judgment by the International Court of Justice or a criminal conviction by the International Criminal Court.
The International Court of Justice addresses disputes concerning state responsibility, while the International Criminal Court investigates and prosecutes individuals accused of international crimes.
In proceedings brought by South Africa under the Genocide Convention, the International Court of Justice has issued provisional measures concerning the protection of Palestinians in Gaza.
Those measures do not constitute a final judicial determination that genocide has occurred.
Separately, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant concerning alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The warrants are not convictions.
The commission has called for further investigation of possible genocide charges and for states to cooperate with international accountability mechanisms.
The Responsibility of Other Governments
The commission's recommendations extend beyond Israel and the Palestinian authorities.
It calls upon UN member states to use the means reasonably available to them to prevent and punish genocide, investigate suspected international crimes where legally permitted or required, and avoid recognising or assisting the maintenance of unlawful occupation and settlements.
These recommendations draw on obligations under international law, including the Genocide Convention.
The convention requires states to prevent and punish genocide, with the scope of each state's preventive responsibilities depending on factors including its capacity to influence the relevant conduct.
This creates questions for governments maintaining diplomatic, military or commercial relationships with parties involved in the conflict.
Those questions cannot be resolved simply by expressing support for peace or humanitarian assistance.
They require examination of the legal obligations applying to particular forms of cooperation, the evidence available to governments and the measures reasonably within their power.
The commission's findings increase the importance of those assessments, although they do not automatically establish that every country maintaining relations with Israel is violating international law.
Does This Affect New Zealand?
Yes — because New Zealand is a party to the Genocide Convention, supports the international rules-based system and has obligations concerning the prevention of genocide and respect for international humanitarian law.
The commission's findings therefore have implications beyond diplomatic statements about the conflict.
New Zealand's government must consider credible evidence of serious international crimes when assessing its foreign-policy decisions and applicable legal responsibilities.
That includes questions concerning humanitarian assistance, sanctions, diplomatic engagement, international judicial processes and any relevant forms of cooperation that could contribute to unlawful conduct.
New Zealand has historically supported the authority of international institutions and the peaceful resolution of disputes under international law.
The present issue tests how those commitments operate when allegations concern a state with significant diplomatic and security relationships across the Western world.
The commission's report also raises questions about the consistency of international responses.
Governments that condemn serious violations of international humanitarian law in one conflict must be prepared to explain the legal and factual basis for their responses in another.
Different circumstances may justify different measures. However, the standards used to assess civilian protection, territorial acquisition, unlawful detention and accountability should remain grounded in the same legal principles.
For New Zealand, the relevant questions are therefore concrete.
What assessment has Wellington made of the commission's latest findings? What obligations arise from the evidence now available? What measures are within New Zealand's lawful capacity to take? And how will the government demonstrate that its decisions are consistent with its international commitments?
These questions concern government accountability rather than allegiance to either side of the conflict.
A Ceasefire Is Not the Same as Accountability
The commission's October 2026 report presents a serious challenge to the claim that the Gaza ceasefire resolved the humanitarian and legal consequences of the conflict.
Investigators found that substantial civilian deaths continued after the agreement took effect, that Israeli territorial control expanded and that the commission's previously identified pattern of genocidal conduct persisted.
In the West Bank, the commission concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces committed multiple crimes against humanity amid escalating military operations and settler violence.
Israel rejects these conclusions and maintains that its actions are directed towards legitimate security objectives.
The findings remain subject to further scrutiny and any applicable judicial proceedings, but they cannot be dismissed merely because a ceasefire was announced or because the accused government disputes them.
The central issue is whether the conduct documented by investigators is independently examined, whether those responsible for proven violations are held accountable and whether effective measures are taken to protect civilians.
For the international community, including New Zealand, the test is not simply whether governments acknowledge the existence of the report.
It is whether their responses are consistent with the legal obligations they have undertaken and the evidence available to them.
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