extermination

The commission concluded from its investigation that Israel has been guilty of the crime against humanity of extermination.

Extermination is one of these crimes.

Just as a crime against humanity isn’t necessarily a war crime, extermination, Sidoti explained, is not the same thing as genocide.

By contrast, the commission’s October finding that Israel is committing the crime of extermination in Gaza relates to the commission of massacres, not to their purpose: “More significantly still, genocide must be these acts carried out with the purpose of destroying a protected group in whole or in part. Extermination does not involve that genocidal purpose. It is mass killing, but it need not be accompanied by a purpose to destroy the group in whole or in part,” Sidoti told Salon.

Israeli security forces have deliberately killed, wounded, arrested, detained, mistreated and tortured medical personnel and targeted medical vehicles, constituting the war crimes of wilful killing and mistreatment and the crime against humanity of extermination.