​Football is supposed to be a game that unites people. In Israel, it has become something darker: a stage for racism, militarism and propaganda. From the stands of Beitar Jerusalem to the ruins of Gaza, sport and politics have fused in ways that reveal the deep entanglement of football with the state’s project of settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing.
A new report by the Hind Rajab Foundation sets out in stark detail how Israeli soldiers and ultras deploy football culture to humiliate Palestinians, glorify destruction and normalise genocide.

​Stadiums of hate
The story begins at home. Israeli football supporter culture has long been notorious for racism and violence.
Beitar Jerusalem stands out as the most extreme. It is the only major Israeli club never to have signed an Arab player – despite Arabs making up around 20% of the country’s population – and its ultras, La Familia, are infamous for their fascist slogans and attacks. They chant “Death to Arabs,” have attacked Palestinian workers, and in 2013 set fire to their own club offices in protest at the signing of two Muslim players. For La Familia, football is not just sport: it is an expression of a politics of racial purity and domination.
But the problem extends far beyond Beitar. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel’s most decorated club, has a vast mainstream following. Its ultras have repeatedly chanted anti-Arab slogans and filled their stadium with tifos glorifying soldiers. Inside the terraces, portraits of soldiers are unveiled alongside club banners, collapsing the line between state violence and sporting pride.
Even Hapoel Tel Aviv, often portrayed as a “left-wing” or “progressive” club because of its historic ties to the labour movement, has not escaped. In recent years its supporters have unfurled banners celebrating soldiers fighting in Gaza. Nationalism, the report argues, permeates the full spectrum of Israeli football.


Violence abroad
When Israeli clubs travel to Europe, their supporters often carry this culture with them.
In November 2024, during a Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israeli fans flooded into the Dutch capital. What followed was not the usual raucous away-day atmosphere, but a campaign of intimidation. Arab residents were harassed, Palestinian flags were ripped from homes and shops, and in the city’s squares, supporters chanted “No children left in Gaza.”
The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint with Dutch police, but authorities dismissed the case, citing “lost evidence.” When new footage resurfaced weeks later, the foundation refiled, exposing both the violence of the fans and the reluctance of European institutions to act.
Similar incidents have been recorded in other European cities. Beitar Jerusalem supporters have brought their racist chants to Paris and Brussels. Maccabi Tel Aviv fans have clashed with pro-Palestinian demonstrators, mocking the suffering in Gaza. In some cases, ultras coordinate with local Zionist organisations, turning football matches into political flashpoints where sport becomes a cover for intimidation.


Football in the ruins
Perhaps the most disturbing material in the report comes from Gaza itself. HRF has collected dozens of images and videos showing soldiers posing with football flags and scarves in front of demolished homes, schools and mosques.
Beitar Jerusalem banners are draped in destroyed living rooms. A Hapoel Tel Aviv flag is waved from a balcony overlooking the ruins of Khan Yunis. A Maccabi Netanya soldier captions his photo from Gaza with the words: “Something about away days in Gaza. Netanya forever.”
Graffiti and ultras slogans have been scrawled on the walls of Palestinian homes, turning ruins into canvases of humiliation. In some cases, soldiers dedicate demolitions to their clubs, or record videos where flattened neighbourhoods are presented as “victories.” On Instagram and Telegram, these posts circulate widely, receiving likes and encouragement from fans back home.
What might appear to outsiders as casual fan behaviour is, in fact, deliberate propaganda. Football symbols are used to claim conquered territory, mock displaced families, and turn atrocities into a consumable spectacle for supporters.


A systemic pattern
The Hind Rajab Foundation argues that this is not the work of a few rogue soldiers or hooligans. It is systemic.
Across clubs – from Beitar Jerusalem’s fascist La Familia to Maccabi Tel Aviv’s mainstream ultras, Hapoel’s supposed “left-wing” supporters, and even Netanya and Haifa – soldiers and fans alike use football identity to glorify violence. Across arenas – in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and inside Israeli stadiums – the same imagery appears. And across forms – flags, graffiti, tifos, racist caricatures, selfies, and social media posts – the purpose is the same: to merge sport with genocide.
Just as homes are seized and repurposed in Israel’s settler-colonial project, Palestinian ruins are expropriated as propaganda stages. Football is weaponised as a cultural extension of ethnic cleansing.


The call for sanctions
The implications are clear. These acts are not only degrading and humiliating; they amount to incitement and propaganda of genocide, which is prohibited under international law.
For advocacy, the message is simple: Israel cannot continue to participate in international sport while football is weaponised in this way.
The Game Over Israel campaign, which HRF supports, demands that Israel be suspended from FIFA, UEFA, FIBA and all international federations until the genocide ends and accountability is enforced. There is precedent: apartheid South Africa was banned from world sport for decades, and Russia was suspended from FIFA and UEFA within weeks of its invasion of Ukraine. Every match Israel plays in UEFA competitions today is, the foundation argues, a propaganda victory for a genocidal regime.


“Football and genocide cannot coexist”
Football should unite. In Israel, it has become a weapon of division, humiliation and propaganda. Soldiers wave ultras flags in the ruins of Gaza. Fans chant genocidal slogans in European squares. Stadiums glorify soldiers while homes are destroyed.
This is not coincidence. It is systemic.
The Hind Rajab Foundation says it will continue documenting, filing cases and campaigning until Israel is excluded from international sport. “Just as apartheid South Africa was banned, so too must Israel face isolation,” the report concludes.
Football and genocide cannot coexist.

While this is first and foremost a direct threat to the personal safety of Mr. Abou Jahjah and his family, it also constitutes a threat to the Hind Rajab Foundation and its work in seeking justice and accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine.

In light of these developments, the Belgian police and other security services have initiated measures, and the protective arrangements already in place for Mr. Abou Jahjah have been significantly tightened. The Hind Rajab Foundation and Mr. Abou Jahjah are fully collaborating with the relevant authorities to ensure that all necessary steps are taken.

The Hind Rajab Foundation and its Chairman will not be intimidated.

​We will continue our work undeterred, but we expect all levels of security and state protection to treat this situation with the urgency and seriousness it deserves.

When a crime as grave as genocide is being committed, silencing and sanctioning those who document it, denounce it, and fight it by legal means is not a separate act—it is an integral part of the crime of genocide. By targeting Palestinian human rights defenders and international justice institutions, the United States is not only shielding Israel’s war criminals but also actively participating in the infrastructure of impunity that sustains genocide.
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For decades, PCHR, Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and Addameer have been pillars of the Palestinian struggle for rights and dignity. They document crimes, defend victims, and pursue justice within the framework of international law. Their only “crime” is demanding that international law be applied equally to Israel.

The Hind Rajab Foundation affirms its unwavering solidarity with PCHR, Al-Haq, Al Mezan, Addameer, Francesca Albanese, and the ICC. Their courage in the face of repression is a beacon of justice. Their struggle is our struggle.

We call on every justice-loving country and person in the world to:

• Reject and denounce these illegitimate sanctions
• Shield and defend Palestinian human rights defenders and international justice mechanisms from political retaliation
• Provide political, financial, and legal support to ensure their work continues without obstruction or fear​

​Justice for Palestine cannot and will not be sanctioned.

Hind Rajab Foundation

The suspects, both actively serving in the Israeli armed forces, were formally identified, arrested and interrogated by Belgian authorities at the Tomorrowland festival in Boom. This unprecedented act was only possible because the allegations were deemed serious enough to warrant direct judicial action. A recognition that the evidence presented is compelling and falls within the scope of international criminal law.

We note with cautious encouragement that the Belgian Federal Prosecutor has decided to refer the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, invoking Belgium’s cooperation framework with the ICC. This referral confirms that the matter has reached the highest level of international legal attention.

However, we believe Belgium should have gone further. In our view, the suspects should not only have been arrested, but also detained and either prosecuted in Belgium or extradited to the ICC. Belgium has the legal basis and responsibility to do so. The current interpretation of its jurisdiction is, in our opinion, unnecessarily limited.

Releasing individuals credibly accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity not only undermines public trust in justice, but risks reinforcing a sense of impunity and may enable those individuals to commit further atrocities.

This referral is not a conclusion. It is a strategic pivot to the international level. Eventhough legally permissible, it is also a reflection of diplomatic caution at a time when genocide is ongoing. In our view, political considerations should never outweigh the imperatives of justice.

We now urge the ICC to act without delay and issue arrest warrants against the suspects. Every day of inaction by international institutions is a day of continued suffering and unaccountability.

Let it be clear: this case sets a legal and moral precedent. Israeli military personnel, no matter where they travel, are not beyond the reach of justice. We will continue to identify and file criminal complaints against any war crimes suspects entering Belgian territory, especially those with dual nationality or clear links to Belgium. We will also continue working with legal networks across Europe to ensure that universal jurisdiction is effectively applied and not gradually eroded.

The Hind Rajab Foundation

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF)—an organisation focused on offensive legal action to prosecute war criminals and parties complicit in the ethnic cleansing and genocide in Palestine—played a pivotal role in the proceedings. At the Emergency Conference in Bogotá, HRF legal advisor Jake Romm joined ministers and representatives from the member states, making a direct intervention and calling on states to:
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• Open direct channels of cooperation with HRF.
• Rapidly review legal cases filed against war crime suspects before they are able to flee member state jurisdictions.
• Coordinate on complex prosecutions, including arms suppliers and enablers.
• Use national laws to enforce international legal obligations.

HRF has tracked Israeli military units implicated in war crimes across Gaza and compiled evidence-based dossiers identifying individual perpetrators, some of whom possess dual nationality in states represented at the conference. However, HRF cannot issue arrest warrants or prosecute suspects—only states can.

HRF's Jake Romm adds: "Investigations have been launched in some jurisdictions... but not enough. There has not been a single arrest. This is purely a problem of political will, because the law could not be clearer."

Yes. All 30 participating states are parties to the Genocide Convention, the Geneva Conventions, and many are signatories to the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. These treaties obligate states to:
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• Exercise universal jurisdiction over grave breaches.
• Actively prosecute individuals accused of war crimes.
• Prevent genocidal acts and punish perpetrators.

​By agreeing to The Hague Group’s joint statement and the UN General Assembly resolution of 18 September 2024, these states affirmed their legal obligation to implement the ICJ’s provisional measures, as well as cases filed against perpetrators, accomplices, and inciters of war crimes by legal organizations and advocates such as the HRF. ​

The 30 states present unanimously declared that the “era of impunity must end,” with the following measures adopted:
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• Arms Prohibition: Prevent transfer or provision of arms, munitions, military fuel, and dual-use items to Israel.
• Maritime Restrictions: Block vessels suspected of transporting such items from docking or transiting through national ports.
• Flag State Responsibility: De-flag non-compliant vessels.
• Procurement Reviews: Audit and end public contracts entrenching the occupation.
• Accountability Mechanisms: Initiate independent investigations and prosecutions.
• Universal Jurisdiction: Activate domestic legal tools to prosecute international crimes committed in Palestine.

The ICJ has issued three binding orders against Israel in 2024 alone, including:
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• 26 January: Ruled Israel's actions may plausibly constitute genocide. Ordered preventative measures.
• 28 March & 24 May: Demanded Israel halt its assault on Rafah and ensure humanitarian access.
• 30 April (Nicaragua v. Germany): Reaffirmed that third-party states must not supply arms if there is a risk of genocide.

On 19 July 2024, the ICJ also issued an advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank illegal. The UN General Assembly subsequently endorsed the opinion with 124 votes.

The ICC also broke precedent by issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024—a first against leaders of a Western-aligned state.

Yet states like France, Hungary, and Italy refused to comply, wrongly citing immunity. The ICC and international law scholars have rejected this claim.

The HRF’s involvement underscores the urgency of the moment. As Jake Romm noted, "Even mere recognition of the risk [of genocide] places upon states an affirmative duty to act."

With credible legal documentation, geopolitical momentum, and an international consensus finally beginning to form, the work of The Hague Group—and HRF’s role in supporting it—may offer the best chance yet to enforce international law where it has long been denied.

​

Palestinians and their allies commemorate the Nakba every year on May 15th, however, the reality is that more than half the indigenous population in Historic Palestine was already ethnically cleansed from their homeland by Zionist paramilitary groups before that date. In fact, prior to the outbreak of the all-out war between Zionist paramilitary groups and Palestine's neighboring Arab states, between 250,000 and 350,000 Palestinians were expelled from their villages and towns amidst the passage of the UN Partition Plan, where the United Nations, against the wishes of the indigenous Palestinians, decided to divide Palestine on November 29, 1947, and the declaration of independence by the state of Israel on May 15, 1948. Furthermore, the blueprint for a Zionist state laid out by early colonial Zionists such as Theodore Herzl and Ze'ev Jabotinsky envisioned the expulsion of the Palestinians well before the end of the British Mandate over Palestine, and even before the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement where England and France inserted borders that arbitrarily divvied up the Middle East after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Some of the most infamous massacres against the Palestinians had already been committed by Zionist paramilitary groups and gangs as early as 1947, including the Baldat al-Sheikh Massacre of December 31, 1947, in which the Zionist Haganah paramilitary group encircled the village of Balad al-Sheikh, destroyed homes, and killed 70 Palestinians. In another act of dominance through impunity, the Sa’sa’ Massacre of February 14, 1948 saw the destruction of 16 homes and 60 Palestinians slaughtered.

The Deir Yassin Massacre on April 9th, 1948, was of the more notorious massacres inflicted on the Palestinians. Weeks before the establishment of Israel as a state, the village of Deir Yassin was attacked by Zionist militants led by future Israeli prime ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir. At least 110 Palestinian men, women, and children were slaughtered at Deir Yassin. This particular massacre consisted of some of the worst atrocities committed against the Palestinians at the time. It was a pivotal moment in both the Nakba and in the Zionist agenda to establish a Jewish-majority state in Historic Palestine. Word of the horrors at Deir Yassin spread quickly and triggered the flight of Palestinians from other villages around Jerusalem and beyond. It became one of the major catalysts for the mass-displacement of Palestinians both internally to other parts of Palestine, and externally to neighboring countries such as Lebanon & Syria.

During the 1948 campaign of massacres, Palestinians fled with little but the clothing on their backs and the keys to their homes, the plan was to return after the conclusion of hostilities. They fled in two ways, either under direct fire by the Western armed & trained Zionist paramilitary groups, or out of fear from the horror stories of massacres such as Deir Yassin. This harrowing, violent ethnic cleansing campaign is what nurtured the fierce resistance of remaining Palestinians, who insist on remaining on their land and in their homes despite the relentless oppressive military occupation and overwhelming aggression that Israel has inflicted on them since before 1948.

By the time Israel was established, the first toll of expulsion stood at over 750,000 Palestinians, or three quarters of the entire indigenous population. More than 530 villages were completely destroyed, and over 15,000 Palestinians were killed. The root causes of the ongoing atrocities are both the denial of the right to self-determination for Palestinians and the systematic breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law during the Nakba. These injustices have continued for over seven decades and have culminated today in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and its horrific displacement and ethnic cleansing campaign in the West Bank.

On this 77th commemoration of the Nakba, we continue to witness powerful entities in the Global North such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and other member states in the European Union not only turning a blind eye to Israel's atrocities, but actively facilitating and funding Israel's genocidal war in Gaza and violent annexation of what little remains of Palestinian lands in the West Bank. To compound Western complicity, damning evidence of the repression of pro-Palestinian solidarity was unveiled by the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), in which research presented concluded that the German government "is aimed at making a thought diverging from the colonial narrative literally unthinkable". Where data was compiled to monitor the German government's response to pro-Palestinian solidarity, a haunting conclusion regarding the impunity bestowed upon Israel was reached, "The repression of Palestine solidarity across Europe is a continuation of a colonial pattern that denies the history and reality of the colonized. This denial seeks to destroy, distort, and negate Palestinian identity, in order to manufacture consent for settler-colonialism and genocide."

77 years later, the only way forward is to seek justice for those who have been stripped of all they possess by the Zionist killing machine. The facilitation of atrocities through collaboration, whitewashing campaigns and cover-ups, the double standards, and the supply of weapons and economic aid to Israel by the Global North, must stop immediately. If human rights apply to all human beings, as institutions such as the United Nations, signatory states to the Geneva Conventions, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and human rights activists repeatedly claim in international law conferences and seminars, then there must be an immediate dismantling of the illegal military occupation and the colonization of Palestine.

​International law must be adhered to by all without exception. Palestinians must regain their right to freedom of autonomy and self-determination, and Israel must be held accountable for its illegal and deplorable acts as a rogue state in this world order. ​

The collection of crimes committed by Israel against Gaza's healthcare sector is as atrocious as it is vast. In the past 18 months, every single hospital in Gaza has been attacked by Israel at least once. As a result of these attacks, most hospitals across the Gaza Strip are no longer operational. Doctors and other healthcare workers have been attacked, beaten, abducted, disappeared, and murdered in their uniforms, sometimes while performing their duties or attempting to provide emergency care. Many abducted healthcare workers have endured torture in Israeli prisons.

Attacks on healthcare facilities carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been a regular occurrence from the first weeks of Israel's genocidal campaign on Gaza. Each attack has drastically weakened an already deprived healthcare system and has exponentially compounded the suffering of Palestinians across every part of the Gaza Strip.

By October 15th, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) had already reported 48 attacks on healthcare facilities. These constituted five or more attacks per day on healthcare infrastructure, within the first week of the genocidal campaign unleashed by Israel on the Gaza Strip on October 8. According to Forensic Architecture, Israeli attacks on healthcare in Gaza follow a pattern designed to maximize civilian deaths. Often, when the IDF attacks a healthcare facility, it simultaneously attacks other healthcare facilities in the same area, cutting off all avenues for rescue, emergency, and medical care within the strike zone.
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Hospitals, due to their protected status under International Humanitarian Law, have also come to serve as shelters for displaced Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, further raising the number of casualties after each Israeli strike. On October 17th 2023, an explosion on the grounds of the Ahli Arab Hospital (also known as Baptist Hospital) compound killed 471 and injured over 300 people, many of whom were civilians merely seeking safe shelter in facilities protected by international law. Prior to this incident, according to WHO, the IDF had already conducted 51 strikes on healthcare facilities and infrastructure and had issued evacuation orders for all hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, including Ahli Arab Hospital.​

HRF will submit a detailed Article 15 communication to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, urging an investigation into Hungary’s breach of its obligations under the Rome Statute by inviting and receiving an individual subject to an ICC arrest warrant.
The communication will also address the responsibility of other European States whose airspace may be used to facilitate Netanyahu’s travel, despite their legal obligations to intercept and arrest ICC suspects passing through their jurisdiction.

HRF is also coordinating with legal teams across multiple European jurisdictions to prepare universal jurisdiction filings and initiate arrest procedures should Netanyahu land or transit through any additional State Party territories.
Furthermore, we are urging various competent bodies to take injunctive actions to block Netanyahu’s overflight through national airspaces, based on ICC State Party obligations and precedent.

Furhermore, HRF will formally request that the Hungarian Public Prosecutor initiate immediate proceedings under Hungary’s international criminal law framework to arrest Netanyahu upon arrival. Hungary is legally bound to cooperate with the ICC and to surrender suspects. Inaction would constitute complicity and a breach of domestic and international legal commitments.

Benjamin Netanyahu is not an ordinary head of state. He is a suspect named in an active ICC arrest warrant, based on overwhelming evidence of mass atrocities. Hosting him—or allowing his aircraft to pass through national airspace—signals not neutrality, but betrayal: a betrayal of international justice, of the ICC’s authority, and of every victim who has suffered under his command.

The HRF will act swiftly, decisively, and publicly. And we will continue to expose those who allow war criminals to walk free.

In another act of collective punishment upon the people of Gaza, the Israeli government announced on March 2nd, 2025 that it will resume the blockage of all aid into the Gaza Strip. The decision came as the first phase of the ceasefire expired—Israel refused to proceed with the second phase of the ceasefire, which called for full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Instead, Israel suggested a US-drafted plan to extend the first phase of the ceasefire, a delay tactic which was not outlined in the original ceasefire agreement and indeed, ran contra to the agreement. The already fragile and continuously breached ceasefire agreement was once again violated by Israel. Israel's refusal to begin negotiations on the second phase was largely tied to its refusal allow mobile homes into Gaza despite the responsibility to do so under the agreement. This denial has left infants exposed to harsh winter conditions without shelter, ultimately resulting in the deaths of seven Gazan infants so far. ​

Upon Israel's suspension of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) stated that this decision will have devastating consequences to the people of Gaza, and that this decision will lead to an increase in collective suffering. Angelita Caredda, NRC's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, expressed concern over this act of collective punishment, stating that "Humanitarian aid is not a privilege—it is a right" and urged all parties to uphold their obligations under international law to allow the immediate, safe, and sustained entry of humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, Caredda stated that the government of Israel must immediately reverse this decision, and that international actors must do everything in their power to ensure that aid reaches Gaza without any further delay or disruption.

"International law is clear: civilians must not be starved, medical facilities must be safeguarded, and humanitarian organisations must be allowed to deliver aid independently and without obstruction." – NRC​

As the occupying power, Israel is legally bound under Article 59(1) of the Fourth Geneva Convention to allow and facilitate humanitarian relief for civilians in need. The deliberate obstruction of aid constitutes a grave breach of the Convention and a war crime under international law. This new violation of international humanitarian law by Israel must not stand. Deliberately withholding aid from entering the strip amounts to using starvation as a weapon of war, an egregious violation of both Article 54 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and Article 8/2/b/XXV(25) of the Rome Statute, which states "Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions". On March 3rd, Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, further reminded the international community of Israel's duties as an occupying power: to facilitate humanitarian aid. This duty is not being upheld, and indeed, is being actively violated by the Israeli government's policies and by the criminal actions of high ranking members of the IDF such as Brigadier General Yehuda Vach and current Head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Major General Ghassan Alian.

UNICEF has also issued a statement regarding Israel's decision to hinder the flow of humanitarian aid, warning that the decision will lead to devastating consequences for children and families across Gaza who are already struggling to survive. UNICEF warned that preventable deaths were already occurring due to the shortage of humanitarian aid even before Israel's decision to once again halt aid. Food prices in Gaza also began to soar as Israel announced its blockade of aid into Gaza.

“While the ceasefire has allowed us to significantly expand lifesaving aid, the level of devastation in Gaza is beyond catastrophic, the ceasefire must hold, and more aid must be allowed in to prevent further suffering and loss of life” ​– Edouard Beigdeber, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa

According to OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, acute malnutrition cases have been found in 3,000 children and 1,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women since the ceasefire came into effect as of February. These lives are further jeopardized by the Israeli Authorities' decision to halt humanitarian aid.​

Civilian infrastructure is protected under international humanitarian law, criminal law, and human rights law, making its deliberate targeting both a war crime and a crime against humanity. Since the official ceasefire began, displaced Palestinians who returned to their homes frequently found them reduced to rubble and completely uninhabitable. According to Doctors Without Borders, 92% of housing units in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed by Israel's genocidal campaign. Civilian infrastructure includes not only housing units, but also all facilities vital for civilian survival during wartime—hospitals, medical facilities, schools, places of worship, libraries, electric power lines, water systems, roads, and commercial buildings.

​The distinction between civilian and military objects is considered fundamental principle of international humanitarian law. Yet, since October 7th, 2023, up to 80% of Gaza's civilian infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli Army. Article II of the 1948 UN convention defines genocide as "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part" is a recognized act of genocide. With up to four-fifths of Gaza's civilian infrastructure damaged or destroyed—including water and sanitation systems, which the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) describes as 'almost entirely defunct'--one must ask: if this does not constitute an act of genocide, what does? ​

The perpetrators of these war crimes continue to evade accountability, despite the indisputable nature of their heinous acts. The deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure by the IDF is thoroughly documented, often by the soldiers themselves, who boast about it on social media. One such case is that of Yuval Vagdani, against whom the HRF filed a criminal complaint in late December 2024. The case made global headlines as a war criminal attempting to escape justice. Vagdani stands accused of the mass destruction of civilian property and infrastructure. The complaint included irrefutable evidence proving his direct involvement in these acts. Additionally, Vagdani made genocidal statements on his social media, vowing to destroy Gaza “to its foundations”. The case material included video footage, geolocation data, and photographs of the suspect planting explosives and celebrating the destruction. ​

Less infamous than Vagdani, but equally despicable, is the case of Dror Zvi Bauer, another IDF soldier against whom the HRF has filed a case in early 2025 with the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as in Austria, Germany, and other European jurisdictions. Bauer is accused of participating in the arbitrary and unlawful destruction of civilian facilities in Gaza including private homes, hospitals, schools, and aid facilities. The complaint is supported by video recordings that Bauer himself posted on Instagram. In these videos, the suspect is seen using explosives and bulldozers to destroy private homes and humanitarian aid facilities—structures that fall under the protected category of 'civilian infrastructure'. Bauer's genocidal intent is further evident in his statements, as he declared that there were "no uninvolved civilians in Gaza", implying that women, the elderly, and children were not considered innocent. ​