The UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories said in a report published on Monday that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel has committed several “acts of genocide” and also mentioned “ethnic cleansing”, AFP reported.

A large part of the Gaza Strip has turned into ruins after massive Israeli bombingsPhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

“The extraordinary nature and scale of the Israeli assault on Gaza and the devastating living conditions it has caused reveal the intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group,” said Francesca Albanese.

The rapporteur, who was authorized by the Human Rights Council but does not speak on behalf of the organization, is due to present his report to the UN body in Geneva on Tuesday.

The report, titled “Anatomy of Genocide,” concludes that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that a threshold has been reached indicating that acts of genocide have been committed” “against Palestinians in Gaza.”

In his conclusions, Albanese lists three acts of genocide: “the killing of members of a group; causing severe physical or mental harm to group members; and the deliberate imposition of living conditions on a group aimed at its complete or partial physical destruction.”

These are three of the five acts of genocide listed in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Israel’s mission to the UN in Geneva “completely rejected the report” and said it was “part of a campaign to undermine the very creation of the Jewish state.”

“Israel’s war is against Hamas, not against Palestinian civilians,” she added.