UN expert says Israel committed genocide in Gaza and calls for arms embargo

UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, told the global body's Human Rights Council that she had found "reasonable grounds" to believe that Israel has committed several acts of genocide in its war on Gaza and called for it to be placed under an arms embargo. 

The UN expert submitted a report to the council on Tuesday, which detailed how Israel has violated three of the five acts listed under the UN Genocide Convention.

"The overwhelming nature and scale of Israel's assault on Gaza and the destructive conditions of life it has inflicted reveal an intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group," the report said.

Israel, which did not attend the session, rejected her findings.