As the Israel-Hamas war nears its third year, public opinion is divided on defining the conflict as genocide. An Economist/YouGov poll found that 45% of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian citizens, while 31% disagree.

Since Israel’s official war declaration on Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, more than 61,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and another 150,000 injured. Additionally, the United Nations estimates that around 90% of Gaza’s population, at least 1.9 million people, have been displaced by the war.

Perspectives from the U

Amos Guiora, an Israeli-American law professor at the University of Utah who served 19 years in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), said it is too early to label the war.

“One has to be really careful with respect to having the full facts in front of us. I think at the moment, in most of these situations, unfortunately, the fog of war is ruling,” he said. “It’s a reality, there is no doubt that innocent civilians have been killed.”

During his time with the IDF, Guiora served as a lieutenant colonel, director of the IDF’s military law school and legal advisor to the IDF in the Gaza Strip from 1994 to 1997.

“The Gazan population that supported Hamas, I have no doubt, is ruing the day that they supported Hamas,” he said. “Are they paying a terrible price for what Hamas did on Oct. 7? One hundred million percent.”

A November 2024 report by the UN found “by early 2024, over 25,000 tons of explosives — equivalent to two nuclear bombs — had been dropped on Gaza, causing massive destruction and the collapse of water and sanitation systems, agricultural devastation and toxic pollution.”

The same report concluded Israel’s actions are “consistent with the characteristics of genocide.”

Yuree Noh, political science assistant professor at the U and non-resident fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative, described the ongoing debate over how to characterize the war in Gaza.

“Plenty of people are already calling it a genocide, but I think it’s gonna continue to remain as a point of contention,” she said. “I think it’s people’s way of being critical of what’s going on in Gaza and the atrocities.”

Noh explained that the difficulty in reaching a consensus is proving intent, which is a core element of the characteristics of genocide.

“A lot of it has to do with intent, and it’s often very difficult to prove intent,” she added. “Even among genocide scholars, I’m told that it’s very polarized.”

She also emphasized that debating the term “genocide” distracts from solutions that contribute to ending the war.

“Because of the politically charged nature of genocide, I actually think it distracts from what’s going on in Gaza,” she said. “Why are we spending so much energy debating whether it’s a genocide or not? Can we just work to stop what’s going on?”

War continues

In addition to his comments on the conflict, Guiora criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying “his [Netanyahu’s] sole interest in this war in Gaza, which is terrible, is to stay in power.”

Guiora also emphasized that the Israeli government’s goal for the war has changed since Oct. 7, 2023.

“First, the government said the return of the hostages,” he said. “Then the government said defeating Hamas.”

Further, Guiora referenced his IDF military background, explaining that Hamas is more comparable to an ideology rather than a militia, making it difficult to completely defeat them.

“You’ll never be able to defeat Hamas,” he added. “You can kill Hamas leadership or the Hamas activists, but that’s not going to defeat Hamas.”

Noh also said that Netanyahu is using the war to stay in power, describing the war as a “distraction” and “strategy.”

The International Criminal Court, a non-governmental, international court, issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024. The warrant cites “war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.”

As public opinion of the war is divided in Israel, Noh emphasized that the war is unlikely to end soon.

“They’ve sort of achieved the war aims,” Noh said. “But then it seems like the war is not going to end.”

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