Annihilation in Gaza and the redemption of International Law
UN experts have recently stated that Palestinians are undergoing ‘annihilation’. The usage of this word is not merely rhetorical—it triggers a whole array of binding international legal obligations.
Akansha Pillai
Published on: 21 July 2025, 01:24 pm

THE VIOLENCE IN GAZA has evoked a novel reaction from the U.N. specialists, who have clearly warned the Palestinians about the ‘annihilation’. As documented in the photos of dead bodies and funeral marches, the cost of human life has been deep. The crisis was made worse by brutal starvation tactics.
In November 2024, the International Criminal court issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for committing the war crime of starvation and just three months after in March 2025, Netanyahu declared that the entry of all goods and supplies to Gaza Strip will be prohibited. The total blockade to Gaza began in March resulting in seventy-seven days of cruel and inhumane siege, and is further evidence of Israel's genocidal intent against the Palestinian population.
Delays in the provision of humanitarian assistance continue to compound the failing position of the international community. In June, for example, the United States vetoed a UN Security Council Resolution that called for "an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza," with less support from the U.S. than the fourteen other member states that voted in favour, including the United Kingdom. Amnesty International criticized the U.S. veto of the draft resolution called "the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions to the entry of humanitarian assistance," labelling the U.S. veto as inhuman.
This analysis will start from the legal premise that when UN experts use the legal term "annihilation" it has a more defined legal meaning under international law in accordance with the 1948 Genocide Convention and customary international humanitarian law and the norms of international law that are considered peremptory (jus cogens) which cannot be derogated.