Blog

The question of whether Israeli actions in Gaza constitute genocide has become a subject of intense debate and scrutiny. This document contributes to that discussion by systematically analyzing the situation through the framework of the Ten Stages of Genocide, as defined by Genocide Watch. This framework outlines ten predictable stages—including classification, symbolization, dehumanization, organization, and extermination—that can lead to genocide. By mapping recent events, statements, and policies onto these stages, this document seeks to evaluate the potential for genocidal intent or risk in Israeli actions, while recognizing that a final legal determination rests with international courts. Evidence is drawn from a variety of credible sources—including news reports, human rights organizations, and UN bodies. However, it is important to acknowledge that Israel has significantly restricted access for independent media to Gaza, making it more challenging to verify information and assess the full extent of the situation on the ground, particularly regarding the targeting of children, women, and other civilians.

To provide a more comprehensive analysis and contextual understanding of the Ten Stages framework, this document also includes brief mappings of the Holocaust and the 2017 Rohingya genocide onto the same stages. These examples serve to illustrate how the framework can be applied to different historical contexts and to highlight common patterns and indicators of genocidal processes. This link offers Genocide Watch’s analysis of the situation in Gaza. https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/genocide-is-never-justifiable-israel-and-hamas-in-gaza .

In the face of complex and rapidly evolving events, a systematic approach like the Ten Stages of Genocide is crucial for connecting seemingly disparate actions and identifying underlying patterns. Rather than debating individual events in isolation, this framework allows for a more holistic analysis, revealing potential trajectories and warning signs that might otherwise be missed. By providing a structured lens through which to examine the situation, the Ten Stages framework can help to inform more effective prevention and intervention efforts.

When we analyze human nature using all sources of reasoning—observation, experience, inference, and the lessons of history passed down through generations—we discover that humans are deeply sensitive to their identities. People seek recognition for their individual, religious, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural identities. To protect these identities and prevent atrocities, the international community established institutions like the United Nations and legal frameworks such as the Geneva Conventions. Yet, despite these safeguards, states like Israel, Myanmar, and Sudan continue to commit acts of genocide. These states seem to remain anchored in the past, disregarding the profound transformations in global values and human rights that have taken place in the modern world.

In this video, Sarah Aziza, author of “The Hollow Half,” shares the story of her father’s displacement at the age of seven in 1967. She recounts how, years later, as a teenager, he and his mother visited Khan Younis, Palestine, and how her father described feeling a sense of renewed life and belonging, as if he had been reunited with his people. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19EpfnpUoW/?mibextid=wwXIfr .

Furthermore, the effectiveness of international mechanisms is often undermined by the use of veto power by permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5), who may shield allies from accountability and, in effect, grant them impunity to commit atrocities under the guise of self-defense. In many cases, P5 members themselves have committed grave abuses—for example, U.S. forces tortured Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison, as revealed in shocking detail (NPR, 2023). Such examples highlight the urgent need for genuine international accountability and the consistent application of human rights standards, regardless of a state’s power or position.

As Genocide Watch powerfully asserts, genocide is never justifiable—no matter the provocations or context. The deliberate targeting of civilians, collective punishment, and the use of starvation as a weapon are grave violations of international law and may constitute crimes against humanity or genocide. Genocide Watch condemns both Hamas’s attacks on Israeli civilians and Israel’s disproportionate military response in Gaza, and calls for immediate accountability, an end to impunity, and independent investigations into all alleged atrocities. The international community must demand a ceasefire, ensure humanitarian access, and uphold the principle that self-defense can never be used as a license for genocide or war crimes. (Genocide Watch, 2024) .

“Genocide is a process. The process does not necessarily mean that the later stages are inevitable.”
— Dr. Gregory Stanton, Genocide Watch (https://www.genocidewatch.com/tenstages)

Gaza Genocide

Below is a stage-by-stage assessment—grounded in Genocide Watch’s framework—of evidence suggesting genocidal intent or risk in Israel’s Gaza campaign. All allegations remain subject to adjudication by competent courts such as ICJ (International Court of Justice); nonetheless, the material record already alarms numerous UN experts, humanitarian organizations, and international jurists.

 

1. Classification

Definition: Us-versus-them social division along ethnic, religious, or national lines.

Genocide begins with dividing people into “us” vs. “them.” In the Gaza conflict, Israel’s rhetoric and policies increasingly treat all Palestinians in Gaza as part of the enemy. Israeli officials insist they are targeting Hamas, but make little distinction on the ground. For example, at the Hague in 2024 Israel argued it was “fighting Hamas, not the Palestinian population,” effectively grouping Gaza’s civilian population with militants reuters.com. In practice, Gazans are almost uniformly identified with terrorism – Israel barred them from traveling for medical care or work, and has long classified Gaza as hostile “enemy territory.” This stereotyping is echoed abroad: German Chancellor Merz warned in May 2025 that Israel’s assaults on Gaza were causing unsustainable civilian suffering and “no longer justified as a fight against terrorism” jpost.com. In short, Gaza’s population is collectively classified by Israeli policy and discourse as the antagonistic “other,” a first step toward persecution.

Key Evidence

Indicator	Recent Examples
Official rhetoric separates “Israelis” from “Gazans/Arabs”	Finance Minister Smotrich: Israel must “liberate and settle Gaza” because it belongs to “our people” JPost
Polling reinforces dual society	47 % of Israeli Jews endorsed killing “all inhabitants of enemy cities” MEE

 

2. Symbolization

 

Definition: Assigning names, colors, or dress to mark the target group.

 

Next is assigning symbols or labels to the persecuted group. Unlike the Nazi yellow star, Gaza Palestinians have no special garment imposed on them, but they are symbolically marked in other ways. Israeli IDs and travel permits (e.g. Gaza’s “green” ID cards) literally label Gaza residents as separate. Public rhetoric often paints Gazans with a single brush: they are constantly called “terrorists,” “human shields” or even “animals.” Extremist slogans have appeared at pro-government rallies (e.g. “Death to the Arabs”). Over time, simply being identified as a Gazan or Palestinian becomes a stigmatizing symbol. This cultural symbolization – labels of terrorism and enemy – paves the way for open discrimination and violence.

 

Evidence

• Colour-coded ID system (green cards for Gaza residents) restricts movement and denotes inferior status.
• Maps, leaflets, and drone loudspeakers label zones as “terror nests,” implicitly tagging all inhabitants as combatants.
• Social media infographics by Israeli security accounts depict Gaza as a single red blot labelled “Hamas.”

 

3. Discrimination

 

Definition: Using law, custom, or policy to deny rights.

 

In the third stage, laws and policies strip the target group of rights. Gaza has long been under extraordinary restrictions: Israel imposed a strict land and sea blockade from 2007 onward, isolating 2 million people hrw.org. Human Rights Watch describes this as “unlawful” collective punishment that severely restricts food, water, medicine and fuel hrw.org. No Gazan can freely leave or earn a living; Israel bars all exports and most imports from Gaza. The result is economic collapse – the World Bank reports Gaza’s economy shrank by 86% in early 2024, leaving it on the brink of total collapse thedocs.worldbank.org. Families cannot rebuild homes or farms, and humanitarian aid is tightly controlled by the Israeli military. This legal and economic discrimination marks Gazans as outside the protections of law. It goes beyond ordinary wartime restrictions into the realm of apartheid-like domination hrw.orgthedocs.worldbank.org.

Evidence

• 18-year blockade bans most exports/imports; electricity and water are rationed by Israel (UN OCHA).
• Permit regime bars >90 % of Gaza patients from reaching West-Bank hospitals (WHO, Apr 2025).
• Absentee-Property laws continue to prevent return to pre-1967 lands.

4. Dehumanization

 Definition: Equating the group with vermin, disease, or inhuman forces.

The fourth stage involves crude propaganda portraying the target group as animals or vermin. In recent years, Israeli public figures have used precisely this language for Gazans. A notorious example: in Dec 2023, Knesset member Nissim Vaturi urged simply to “burn Gaza” – literally incinerate people – yet the ethics committee later deemed this “political speech” and took no action jpost.com. Such calls treat Gazans not as human beings but as disposable threats. Human rights advocates note the same tenor in government statements: Amnesty International observed that many Israeli leaders implicitly treat Palestinians as “not worthy of consideration,” describing them in sub‑human terms. As Amnesty puts it, “viewing those targeted as subhuman… is a consistent feature of genocide.” For instance, a 2014 Facebook post shared by a Jewish nationalist MP explicitly called for killing Palestinian mothers who raise “little snakes,” so no future “snakes” would be born thedailybeast.com. In today’s conflict this demeaning framing is widespread. Editorials and social media routinely brand Gaza’s entire population as pure enemy. By dehumanizing Gazans as “cockroaches,” “vermin” or “snake-children,” Israeli extremists and sympathizers normalize violence. This stage removes empathy and justifies the next steps of persecution and killing amnestyusa.orgjpost.com.

Evidence

Quote	Speaker & Date
“We are fighting human animals.”	Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, 9 Oct 2023 (Le Monde)
“Burn Gaza, kill them all.”	Likud MK Nissim Vaturi, multiple radio interviews, cleared by Knesset ethics panel [MEE]
“Sons of light v. sons of darkness.”	PM Benjamin Netanyahu, 27 Jan 2024 (Holocaust Memorial Day speech)

 

5. Organization

 Definition: State or militia planning of violent acts.

The fifth stage is formal organization of hate – in this case, Israel’s war apparatus. Israel’s response to the Oct. 2023 Hamas attack has been highly coordinated: the military mobilized hundreds of thousands of reservists, stockpiled munitions, and formed special counterterror units for Gaza. The government itself created a war cabinet and special agencies to direct operations. Even extremist civilian groups are state‑aligned: numerous right‑wing ministers and officials have joined settler militias to plan post-war Gaza policy. (For example, dozens of ministers attended an ultra‑nationalist conference on resettling Gaza reuters.com.) The state arms, funds and directs these efforts. In short, genocide requires an organized campaign, and Israel’s military–government alliance has systematically organized the Gaza offensive: issuing bombarding orders, issuing evacuation instructions, and applying emergency rule in the occupied territory.

Key Evidences:

• Operation “Gideon’s Chariots” plans to occupy 75 % of Gaza and corral residents into “humanitarian zones” (Israeli Cabinet leak, May 2025; DW).
• 45,000 reservists mobilised, new Combat Engineering battalions trained in rapid demolition of urban blocks (IDF briefings, April–May 2025).

6. Polarization

 Definition: Extremists drive groups apart, silence moderates.

 Stage six deepens divisions and silences moderates. In Israel today, hate speech by leaders and media polarizes even further. Extremist politicians openly agitate against Gaza’s civilians. In January 2024, far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rallied a crowd by declaring that Jews should “return” to Gaza and that Gazans should be “encouraged” to leave reuters.comreuters.com. He urged wholesale Jewish settlement of Gaza, explicitly threatening Palestinians with forced displacement. Similarly, other officials have hinted that large parts of Gaza be declared “no-go zones” for Palestinians or even wiped off the map. These statements – met with little domestic censure – push Israeli society to view Gazans as an irreconcilable enemy. Even the Israeli media has amplified such extremist messages under the banner of “security.” At the same time, Israeli social media and politicians demonize any voices calling for Gaza civilians’ rights, labeling advocates as traitors. The net effect is rigid polarization: Israelis rally ‘all of the land’, Palestinians are cast as existential foes.

Evidence

• Israeli NGO B’Tselem labelled “foreign agent” in Knesset bill; funding curtailed.
• Peace activists (Standing Together) assaulted at Tel Aviv rally, 3 Feb 2025; police made no arrests (Haaretz).
• Social-media legislation proposes 10-year prison terms for posting “terror-supporting content,” widely interpreted to include Gaza civilian casualty photos (Justice Ministry draft, March 2025).

7. Preparation

 Definition: Final plans, euphemisms, and logistical steps for mass atrocity.

In the seventh stage, the perpetrators plan how to isolate and annihilate the group. Israel’s preparations for Gaza have been chillingly explicit. Within days of the war’s start, the IDF dropped leaflets and sent texts ordering 1.1 million people in northern Gaza – about half the population – to evacuate south on 24 hours’ notice aljazeera.com. The United Nations warned that such rapid, mass displacement was logistically impossible and would cause humanitarian disaster. Nonetheless, Israeli forces began mapping and systematically bombing neighborhoods as Gazans fled, despite claiming it was “for their own safety” aljazeera.com. Leaders publicly discussed how Gaza might be resettled: Ben-Gvir’s comment about “encourag[ing] emigration” reuters.com amounts to a plan to empty Gaza of Palestinians. In preparation, Israeli intelligence and the military also allegedly compiled “kill lists” of Hamas-affiliated civilians. Plans for mass graves or site clearing have been reported. All these steps – evacuation orders, gathering of intelligence, public calls for removing Gazans – show active preparation for targeting the group.

Evidence

• Target “kill list” of 37,000 Hamas suspects circulated to drone units; whistle-blown by Israeli reservists in April 2025 (+972 Magazine).
• IDF creates 1.5-km “buffer strip” inside Gaza, bulldozing 8,000+ buildings (UNOSAT high-resolution imagery, May 2025).
• Official language of “sterile zones,” “clearing operations,” and “voluntary relocation” appears in Cabinet communiqués.

8. Persecution

 Definition: Systematic violation of civil or human rights.

The eighth stage involves systematic victimization of the group. In Gaza, persecution is already severe: hospitals, schools and refugee camps are shelled almost daily. Gaza’s health system has collapsed under the assault and blockade. Israeli restrictions prevent medicine and fuel from reaching hospitals; doctors at al-Shifa and other hospitals describe being overwhelmed with wounded children and running out of supplies. The World Health Organization warned that 93% of Gazans face crisis levels of hunger and that disease and starvation are rampant. Meanwhile, Israel’s blockade means even food and water are rationed by the military. Anyone perceived as collaborating or resisting is arrested: reports indicate dozens of Gazan men have been detained in secret for interrogation, many alleging torture amnestyusa.org. Families are torn apart; tens of thousands are internally displaced with no safe shelter. International law experts say these acts – attacks on civilian infrastructure, collective punishment by siege, torture of detainees – already constitute grave war crimes. By wielding lethal force at checkpoints, shooting at aid-seekers, demolishing homes and detaining Palestinians en masse, Israel inflicts brutal persecution on Gaza’s population amnestyusa.orghrw.org.

Evidence

• 1.9 million people internally displaced—90 % of Gaza’s population—since Oct 2023 (UNRWA, May 2025).
• Border crossings closed to aid for 63 consecutive days (Amnesty, 25 May 2025).
• Continuous destruction of shelters: three UN schools bombed 14–16 May, killing 47 PCHR.

9. Extermination

 Definition: Mass killings legally defined as genocide once intent is proven.

The penultimate stage is mass killing. Tens of thousands of Gazan civilians have been killed in the bombardment and ground assault – a toll far beyond normal combat losses. United Nations agencies recorded horrific numbers: by late January 2024 25,700 Palestinians were reported killed (and over 63,000 injured) from air and artillery strikes icj-cij.org. By the end of 2024, Amnesty International documented “42,000 Palestinians [killed], including over 13,300 children,” in Gaza amnestyusa.org. These include whole families wiped out in single strikes (one hospital blast reportedly killed dozens at once), as well as thousands of people shot while waiting for aid. Entire districts like Khan Younis and Gaza City have been razed. The siege also means people are dying from lack of water, starvation and disease – a point the UN relief chief warned “is about to occur” amid famine. In this stage, victims are killed on such a scale that no meaningful distinction can be made between combatant and non‑combatant. Even Israel’s allies are alarmed: Germany’s Merz has publicly declared that the continuing slaughter and humanitarian suffering have crossed legal boundaries jpost.com. While Israel argues it is “defending itself,” the actual outcome in Gaza is that a large part of one people is being annihilated.

Evidence

• 52,000+ Palestinians killed, 70 % women & children (Gaza Health Ministry; cross-checked by WHO casualty-verification sample).
• March-May 2025: daily average 89 civilian deaths; 27 May incident reported in Al Jazeera live-blog records 89 killed in 24 h (Al Jazeera).
• PM Netanyahu, 2 Mar 2025: “The strikes you have seen are only the beginning.” (quoted by Al Jazeera long-form, 16 Apr 2025).

10. Denial

Definition: Destroying evidence, blaming victims, impeding inquiry.

At the final stage, the perpetrator lies and blames the victims. Israel’s government vigorously rejects any suggestion of genocide or wrongdoing. In testimony at the International Court of Justice in January 2024, Israeli lawyers insisted, “This is no genocide,” arguing they are only targeting terrorists reuters.com. They claim every casualty is collateral damage or Hamas’s fault. For example, Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman said any Gazan suffering was “first and foremost the result of Hamas’ strategy,” and even suggested “if there were acts of genocide, they have been perpetrated against Israel” by Hamas reuters.com. On the ground, Israeli forces routinely deny targeting civilians even as they bomb civilian areas. Government statements accuse any critic of being pro-terrorist or biased. Meanwhile, access for independent journalists and investigators is blocked, making it hard to verify reports from Gaza. This pattern of denial is classic: evidence of mass killing (such as hospital footage and mass graves) is downplayed or denied, blame is shifted to Hamas, and international laws of war are invoked to justify the attacks reuters.com. Israel’s steadfast refusal to acknowledge civilian harm, even as death tolls mount, completes the genocide cycle by erasing responsibility.

Evidence

• IDF bans foreign media in northern Gaza; embeds only with IDF spokespeople (Foreign-Press Association protest, 6 May 2025).
• Government claims Hamas “inflates casualty figures,” despite WHO audits finding 3 % variance.
• Israel rejects ICJ provisional measures (26 Jan & 24 May 2025) and withholds visas from UN Special Rapporteurs.

Each of the Ten Stages can be seen, disturbingly, in Israel’s conduct toward Gaza. Palestinians in Gaza are first marked as “the enemy,” then systematically deprived of rights, dehumanized in rhetoric, and surrounded by an organized war effort. Leaders fan hatred and openly plan the population’s removal. The assault has escalated to wholesale killings and devastation of Gaza’s infrastructure. Throughout, Israeli officials deny or excuse their actions. These parallels were already evident early in the war: South Africa’s case at the ICJ noted the massive killing and displacement in Gaza and warned of genocide icj-cij.org. Now, in 2025, major human rights groups and UN experts echo the stages-of-genocide framework. For example, Amnesty concludes Israel’s combined campaign meets the legal definition of genocide amnestyusa.orgamnestyusa.org. The evidence is stark and mounting. As long as Gaza’s people are systematically targeted and their suffering dismissed, each of the ten stages rings true – calling for urgent action to stop the unfolding atrocity.

Sources: News reports and human-rights research from 2023–2025, including The Jerusalem Post jpost.comjpost.com, Al Jazeera updates, Reuters coverage reuters.comreuters.com, Amnesty International analyses amnestyusa.orgamnestyusa.org, Human Rights Watch reports hrw.org, UN bodies’ statements icj-cij.org, and other credible international sources. Each stage above is supported by documented quotes and findings as cited.

Method & Sources

• Jerusalem Post, 26 May 2025 (Bezalel Smotrich Jerusalem-Day rally)
• Al Jazeera live-blog, 27 May 2025 (death toll = 89 on that day)
• Middle East Eye, 21 May 2025 (Knesset ethics ruling on Nissim Vaturi’s “burn Gaza” call)
• Supplementary evidence (linked inline) from UN bodies, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Haaretz, Le Monde, NPR, and others, all dated 2023-2025.

Synthesis: Indicators of Intent

Legal scholars note that intent can be inferred from a pattern of conduct, official statements, and foreseeable outcomes. Among the most salient signals:

1. Explicit Calls for Destruction – high-ranking officials’ public demands to “burn” or “erase” Gaza.
2. Predictable Consequences – continuation of tactics (siege, bombing shelters) long after humanitarian bodies warn of starvation and mass death.
3. Structural Policies – permanent land seizure plans and demographic engineering (“settle Gaza”) voiced by Cabinet ministers.

While an authoritative genocide ruling rests with competent tribunals (ICC, ICJ), the convergence of all ten Stanton stages has prompted UN experts to warn of a “risk of unfolding genocide” (OHCHR press release, 18 May 2025).

 Other genocides examples

Holocaust

Mapping the Holocaust to Genocide Watch’s Ten Stages

Stage	Corresponding Evidence	References
I. Classification	– Nazi ideology classified people based on race: “Aryans” (superior) vs “Jews, Roma, Slavs, etc.” (inferior). – Nuremberg Laws (1935) legally defined who was a Jew and stripped Jews of German citizenship.	USHMM: Nazi Racial Ideology – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-racism USHMM: Nuremberg Laws – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nuremberg-laws
II. Symbolization	– Jews were forced to wear yellow stars of David on their clothing. – Jewish shops and homes were marked with Jude or Jewish Star symbols. – Nazi propaganda linked Jews to rats, disease, and subversion.	USHMM: Yellow Star – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/badge-identifying-jews-under-the-nazi-regime USHMM: Propaganda – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/antisemitic-illustrations
III. Discrimination	– Jews were expelled from jobs, schools, and public life. – Nuremberg Laws prohibited intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews. – Jewish businesses were boycotted and confiscated (“Aryanization”).	USHMM: Antisemitic Legislation – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/anti-jewish-legislation-in-prewar-germany
IV. Dehumanization	– Jews were depicted as vermin, parasites, and racial pollutants. – Nazi propaganda portrayed Jews as conspirators trying to destroy Germany. – SS training encouraged soldiers to see Jews as less than human.	USHMM: Dehumanization – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-racism USHMM: Propaganda and Antisemitism – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/antisemitic-legislation
V. Organization	– The SS (Schutzstaffel) and Gestapo were key organizations for identifying, rounding up, and deporting Jews. – Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units) were formed to execute mass shootings in Eastern Europe. – The Wannsee Conference (1942) coordinated the “Final Solution.”	USHMM: SS and Police – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/ss-and-police USHMM: Final Solution – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-final-solution
VI. Polarization	– Nazi propaganda intensified after Kristallnacht (1938), blaming Jews for Germany’s problems. – Jewish publications were banned, synagogues burned, and public speech criminalized for Jews. – Informants were encouraged to report Jewish sympathizers.	USHMM: Kristallnacht – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht   USHMM: Propaganda -https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-propaganda
VII. Preparation	– Jews were systematically rounded up, registered, and sent to ghettos. – Construction of death camps (e.g., Auschwitz, Treblinka) began in 1941. – Railroads and timetables were organized for deportations across Nazi-occupied Europe.	USHMM: Ghettos – – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/ghettos USHMM: Deportations – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/deportations-to-killing-centers
VIII. Persecution	– Jews were stripped of property and civil rights, forced into starvation conditions in ghettos. – Widespread forced labor, physical abuse, and family separations. – Thousands died from starvation and disease even before mass extermination began.	USHMM: Persecution – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-holocaust-an-introduction USHMM: Warsaw Ghetto – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/warsaw
IX. Extermination	– 6 million Jews were murdered in gas chambers, mass shootings, or through starvation and disease. – Camps like Auschwitz, Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka were designed specifically for industrial-scale killing. – Zyklon B gas was used in gas chambers.	USHMM: Killing Centers – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/killing-centers-revolt USHMM: Auschwitz -https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/auschwitz
X. Denial	– Nazis attempted to destroy evidence: burning bodies, dismantling camps (e.g., Treblinka). – Documents were destroyed; SS officers gave false orders to cover up genocide. – After WWII, neo-Nazi and Holocaust denial movements emerged to downplay or deny the genocide.	USHMM: Denial – https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/denial-of-the-holocaust USHMM: Operation 1005 (Cover-up) https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/operation-1005

 

Rohingya genocide (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_genocide)

Below is a table mapping the Ten Stages of Genocide to the Rohingya genocide, with concise evidence and references for each stage. All references are hyperlinked for direct verification.

Stage	Corresponding Evidence	References
1. Classification	Rohingya identified as a distinct Muslim ethnic minority, officially excluded from Myanmar’s 135 recognized ethnic groups; labeled as “Bengali” to mark them as foreigners.	Wikipedia, Human Rights Watch
2. Symbolization	Rohingya denied citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law; required to carry special “white cards” and subjected to travel restrictions; villages marked for destruction.	Wikipedia, Amnesty International
3. Discrimination	Systematic denial of citizenship, voting rights, access to education, and healthcare; restrictions on marriage and movement; segregated camps after 2012 violence.	UNHCR, Human Rights Watch
4. Dehumanization	Rohingya called “illegal immigrants,” “Bengali terrorists,” and “virus” by officials and Buddhist monks; hate speech and propaganda spread via social media and state media.	Reuters, Al Jazeera
5. Organization	Military (Tatmadaw), police, and local Rakhine militias coordinated attacks; systematic planning of “clearance operations” in 2016 and 2017.	UN Fact-Finding Mission, Wikipedia
6. Polarization	Moderate voices silenced; Rohingya leaders and activists arrested or killed; hate speech criminalized only when criticizing the state.	Human Rights Watch, The Guardian
7. Preparation	“Clearance operations” planned; Rohingya villages mapped and targeted; lists of Rohingya households compiled; military build-up in Rakhine State.	UN Report, BBC
8. Persecution	Mass arrests, forced displacement, destruction of homes and mosques, denial of humanitarian aid, and confinement in camps.	Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch
9. Extermination	Mass killings, rape, and burning of villages; at least 24,000 Rohingya killed (2017), thousands raped, and over 700,000 fled to Bangladesh.	Wikipedia, Reuters, Al Jazeera
10. Denial	Myanmar government denies genocide, claims “clearance operations” targeted terrorists; blocks UN investigators; destroys mass grave sites; blames Rohingya for violence.	BBC, UN News, Wikipedia