Destruction of Conditions of Life (PHR-I)

"Israel's military campaign in Gaza since October 2023... constitutes genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention."

"The evidence shows a deliberate and systematic dismantling of Gaza's health and life-sustaining systems—through targeted attacks on hospitals, obstruction of medical aid and evacuations, and the killing and detention of healthcare personnel."

"...Israel's actions have destroyed Gaza's healthcare infrastructure in a manner that is both calculated and systematic."

"Gaza's health system has been systematically dismantled—its hospitals rendered non-functional, medical evacuations blocked, and essential services like trauma care, surgery, dialysis, and eliminated."

"[K]illing and detention of over 1,800 healthcare workers... has decimated Gaza's medical capacity and rendered recovery nearly impossible."

"Humanitarian relief has been deliberately restricted, forcing civilians to approach militarized distribution points that have often become sites of s."

"This... assault has produced a... failure of health and humanitarian infrastructure, compounded by policies leading to starvation, disease, and the breakdown of , housing, and education systems."

"As of mid-2025, over 57,000 Palestinians - primarily women and children - have been confirmed killed, with estimates nearing 100,000 when indirect deaths are included."

"Gaza residents... detained and held in Israeli facilities report systematic torture, medical neglect, and degrading treatment..."

"Children face... trauma, while women endure... miscarriages, s, and maternal mortality amid famine and lack of reproductive healthcare services."

"[T]hese acts... part of a deliberate policy targeting Palestinians... fulfill... core acts defined in Article II of the : (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; and (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its destruction in whole or in part."

"Despite international legal rulings, Israel has not complied... and global enforcement remains weak."

"PHRI urges international bodies and states to fulfill their duty under Article I of the to stop the Gaza genocide."

"[D]estruction of Gaza's health system is not only a legal violation but a humanitarian catastrophe demanding urgent global solidarity and response."

"Understanding... requires following key events at least since the 1948 war—the Palestinian Nakba ("Catastrophe"). Israel forcibly displaced over 80% of the indigenous Palestinian population through mass deportations, internment of civilians, massacres, and the systematic destruction of Palestinian infrastructure. More than 200,000 of the 751,000 Palestinians recorded as refugees fled to the Gaza Strip, tripling its prewar population."

"In 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank... and the Gaza Strip, displacing over 400,000..."

"Since 2007, Israel has imposed a comprehensive blockade on the Gaza Strip."

"Repeated Israeli military escalations between 2008 and 2021 severely damaged healthcare infrastructure and exhausted its emergency response capacity."

"Following Hamas' attack, Israel launched a sustained and far-reaching military offensive against the Gaza Strip."

"Today's rampant starvation and in the Gaza Strip carry critical long-term effects, particularly for children."

"The dismantling of long-term critical care, as well as preventative and diagnostic medicine, will have lasting consequences for the treatment of infectious, cardiac, oncological, and other diseases..."

"Mass displacement and the destruction of buildings... rendered the education system... inoperable, while also destroying family and community structures..."

"Collapsed water and systems have led to detrimental environmental effects."

"These issues are deeply interwoven with... categories... in the definition of genocide under Article II of the ..."

"[T]he destruction of healthcare infrastructure may constitute both the infliction of conditions of life (Article II(c)) and serious bodily or mental harm (Article II(b))."

"[A]cts of killing (Article II(a)) may also contribute to broader patterns of deprivation."

"The deliberate infliction of life-destroying conditions, where undertaken with the intent to eliminate a protected group, constitutes genocide under Article II(c) of the . The deprivation of basic necessities such as food, water, shelter, and medical care can thus fulfill the material element..."

"Through sustained military attacks, siege policies, and the obstruction of humanitarian access, including medical supplies, Israel has dismantled the institutions and services essential to health and survival."

"Hospitals, clinics, ambulances, and medical personnel have been systematically targeted, rendered non-functional, or killed. Diagnostic and treatment capacities have been eliminated, resulting in deaths due to acute and chronic life-threatening conditions, including infectious, cardiac, and oncologic diseases."

"The prolonged famine will have severe long-term effects, particularly on children. ...[[Psychological trauma|[M]ental effects]] of the atrocities will persist..."

"Very early into the war, all major hospitals in northern Gaza... were shelled, besieged, or forcibly evacuated."

"By late December 2023, only nine of the Gaza Strip's 36 hospitals remained partially functional - all located in the south."

"Repeated direct attacks on hospitals... obstruction of supply flows and aid, and the decimation of medical personnel through killings and detentions made recovery impossible."

"By early June, the health system had reached a state of near-total collapse. With only 14 out of 36 hospitals only partially functional, and most major facilities in Rafah and central Gaza either shuttered or overwhelmed, medical staff faced impossible conditions."

"From October 2024, Israel executed a military campaign aimed at physically and functionally erasing northern Gaza."

"[[w:Kamal Adwan Hospital sieges|[D]estruction of Kamal Adwan]] marked dealt a decisive blow to northern Gaza's healthcare system. With no remaining medical facilities, no operational ambulances, and no rescue infrastructure, northern Gaza's health system was erased."

"On March 2 [2025], Israel imposed a second total siege on the Gaza Strip—the longest yet... cutting off all humanitarian and medical access. The World Food Programme (WFP), WHO, and other UN agencies reported... bakeries ran out of flour and fuel, food stocks... depleted, and hospitals... unable to operate... In May alone, 5,000 children in Gaza were diagnosed with ..."

"On March 23, Israeli forces opened fire on marked ambulances and a fire-fighting vehicle, killing 15 Palestinian medics... attempting to assist wounded civilians after an airstrike. They were buried in an apparent attempt to eliminate evidence. The International Federation of the Red Cross called it "the most deadly attack on medical workers in a decade." (Jun 19, 2025)"

"As of May 23, over 90% of Gaza's 531 health service points were either entirely or partially out of service, with many of the last remaining sites located inside declared evacuation zones, inaccessible to civilians and medics alike."

"[A]ttacks on Gaza's hospitals... blocked medical evacuations, prevented patients from entering or leaving... and killed or detained... patients and medical staff. The raids caused significant damage... while denying... critical resources, including electricity, water, and medical supplies. These... endangered... lives... [and] severely undermined the hospitals' ability to function."

"Taking a health-focused approach to identify genocidal intent and policy, the report documents the systematic dismantling of Gaza’s health system, destruction of medical facilities, blocking of drugs, and killings and arrests of health workers. ...[T]hey implore health and humanitarian communities worldwide to confront the destruction of Gaza’s medical system, attacks on its infrastructure and environment, and deliberate targeting of the conditions needed for human survival in Gaza. ...[T]hird parties, PHRI argues, have a duty to terminate this genocidal campaign and protect the health, lives, and dignity of Palestinians."

"PHRI... ... documents.. a deliberate, cumulative dismantling of Gaza’s health system, and... its people’s ability to survive. This amounts to genocide. Israel’s bombing of hospitals, destruction of medical equipment, and depletion of medications have made medical care... impossible. ...Each day, dozens die of malnutrition. Ninety-two percent of infants aged six months to two years don’t get enough to eat. ...85 children have ...starved to death. Israel has displaced 9 in 10 Gazans, destroyed or damaged 92% of homes, and left... half a million children without schools or stability. It has wiped out essential health services... [A]ctions are critical—and must be taken immediately—to prevent further loss of life."