The Extermination of Hamas as Establishing Genocidal Intent by Maryam Jamshidi

54. Instead of undercutting South Africa’s genocide case, Israel’s desired elimination of Hamas provides more proof that its actions satisfy the Convention’s definition of genocide… While some have rightly argued that annihilating Hamas may be an impermissible defensive objective violating international law on the use of force, few have explored how targeting Hamas—both in terms of its civilian and military arms—may also help satisfy the Genocide Convention’s onerous intent requirement. This post begins by describing expert commentary on how the destruction of a group’s political and administrative leadership, as well as its military and law enforcement personnel, can help establish genocidal intent. It then turns to the case of Gaza, demonstrating how the targeting of Hamas’s political and administrative leaders, as well as its police force, can establish intent to physically eradicate the Palestinian people of Gaza, as such. This post ends by examining how Israel’s targeting of Hamas’s military arm provides additional evidence of genocidal intent.