Israel has dismissed allegations it is committing genocide in Gaza, saying the claims from Amnesty International are “no surprise”.
Government spokesman David Mencer called it “fake news” and told Sky’s Mark Austin the human rights group’s “raison d’etre is to criticise Israel – they do that at every opportunity and this is sadly just another example”.
Amnesty accused Israel of trying to deliberately destroy Palestinians by launching deadly attacks, demolishing infrastructure and preventing food, medicine and aid deliveries.
It said such actions met the legal threshold for genocide and was not justified as a response to last year’s Hamas terror attack – which killed around 1,200 Israelis and saw about 250 taken hostage.
Amnesty’s secretary general Agnes Callamard said the report “must serve as a wake-up call to the international community”.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, 44,500 Palestinians – at least half of them women and children – have been killed in the war so far.
The fighting has devastated Gaza and pushed thousands to the brink of starvation.
Israel maintains that it takes the utmost care to avoid civilian casualties and Israel’s spokesperson said the genocide claim was a “classic example of antisemitism” and “Holocaust inversion”.
Mr Mencer said Amnesty “fails to address Hamas‘s genocidal rhetoric – their leaders call for the eradication of Jews, the wiping of my country off the face of the Earth”.
“This is nothing but accusing us – the victims of this terror – of permitting the genocide which has been committed on our people by Hamas’s design,” he added.
South Africa – supported by other countries – has also accused Israel of genocide and in October submitted a 5,000-page document to the UN’s top court.
And last month, a United Nations committee said Israel’s methods in Gaza were “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”.
Israel’s spokesman claimed South Africa was being “paid by Iran” – and insisted Israel was in fact “the only people to get ordinary Gazans out of harm’s way”.
The US State Department also said on Thursday that it still believes claims of genocide against Israel are unfounded.
‘Conquering, annexing, ethnic cleansing’
Mr Mencer rejected comments by his country’s former defence minister, Moshe Ya’alon, that the army was “conquering, annexing, ethnic cleansing” in northern Gaza.
Israel has for several months been targeting what it says is a resurgent Hamas operation in the north and has told civilians to go south.
Many have refused to leave, however, fearing for their future in supposed humanitarian “safe” zones, which have been hit by strikes in the past.
Mr Mencer reiterated that civilians are being told to go for their own protection – so they are not used as human shields – as Israel continues its aim of wiping out Hamas’s military capability and freeing hostages.
The Gaza war has lasted 14 months so far and efforts to secure a ceasefire have so far proved unsuccessful.
The prime minister of Qatar – a key intermediary – told Sky’s Yalda Hakim this week that Donald Trump’s team wants a deal done before he retakes the White House on 20 January.
“We are trying to coordinate with them our efforts, and all of us, we agree, and we are hoping to get over this situation before the president comes to the office,” said PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al Thani.