Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, declared that the ongoing mass killing and destruction in Gaza Strip amounts to the “first genocide to awaken the world.”
Speaking at the closing session of the Doha Forum 2025, Albanese described Gaza’s devastation as “apocalyptic,” saying that this genocide has jolted global conscience and exposed how international law collapses when power goes unchecked.
She emphasized that although genocides have occurred before — such as in Bosnia, Rwanda and elsewhere — this is the first one to have generated a global public and political reaction at this scale.
Her findings are based on her latest report, titled Gaza Genocide: a collective crime, presented to the United Nations General Assembly, which documents how Israel’s military campaign, in coordination with material and political support from other states, has turned Gaza into a de-facto uninhabitable space — fulfilling multiple criteria of genocide under international law.
Albanese further called out countries and corporations that supply arms, funding, or diplomatic cover to Israel, holding them collectively responsible for enabling these crimes. She urged immediate global action: arms embargoes, sanctions, and legal accountability to prevent further destruction and restore justice and dignity to the Palestinian people.