Genocide is a strong word. The scale of civilian deaths resulting from indiscriminate attacks by Israel without regard for collateral damage is appalling and should be considered a war crime. Based on available evidence, it seems highly probable that direct reprisals against civilians has also been perpetuated by Israel, resulting in further loss of life among civilians. Israel has definitely committed war crimes and the international community should continue to pressure Israel to cease immediately. But I don't think Israel's crimes can be considered genocide, and labeling it as such is counterproductive and distracts from the real issues.
Deliberate targeting and destruction of a nation is genocide. If you take the Western narrative of 'Israel is fighting Hamas only; IDF is the most moral army in the world', then it isn't a genocide. But if you take the actual reality on the ground where 70% of Palestinian homes have been destroyed, 30/36 civilian hospitals have been obliterated, every university has been destroyed, nearly all civilian infrastructure destroyed, IDF displaces civilians enmasse by telling them to flee (towards Egypt), then it starts to look like a textbook exemplary of genocide.
Deliberate destruction of the lives of
2.3 million people just to free a hundred hostages and target Hamas which numbers less than 30,000.. is just nonsense. For one thing, if you wanted to save somebody who has been kidnapped, simplest of logic should tell you not to bomb them because you'll probably kill them.
Israel's intention is to actually do another real genocide like the Nakba: destruction of Gaza as a nation-state, partly because Hamas prevented Israel from infiltrating like a cancer as they did in the West Bank by introducing illegal settlers and annexing land; with Gazans evicted into Egypt. Egypt knew this at the onset of the war and refused to open the borders, hoping that maybe Gaza will survive.
But now things have changed as Egypt very recently recieved a multibillion dollar IMF bailout from the West, and EU thanked Israel and Sisi for their roles in containing Russia.
