The genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s have many parallels to the ongoing situation in Gaza. From ethnic cleansing to targeting UN officials, the IDF draws from the playbooks of past atrocities and brings them into the 21st century.
The Rwanda genocide took place in 1994 when Hutus targeted Tutsis, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. The UN report on what occurred was published in 1999.
"The international community did not prevent the genocide, nor did it stop the genocide once the killing had begun." Not only is the international community not stopping the killing in Gaza, it is arming the side committing genocide.
27 members of the UN (peacekeepers, military observers and staff) were killed during the Rwanda genocide. 177 UN personnel have so far been killed in Gaza through 2023-2024. The IDF has also razed UN buildings and schools and fired rockets and tank shells at empty UNRWA facilities, all posted to social media. According to the UN report for the Bosnia genocide, 117 UN protection force personnel were killed in Srebrenica.
In response to the events of the Bosnian genocide related to ethnic cleansing, ethnic cleansing was called a "form a genocide" by the UN. The IDF seems to be guilty of ethnic cleansing in Gaza. About a million people have been displaced in Northern Gaza toward Rafah, and are not allowed to return. On April 15th, a massive crowd of Palestinians tried to march back to Gaza city, only to be fired on by IDF boats and harassed by jets until they turned away.
Even if the Palestinians had been successful at returning to Gaza city, there is nothing to return to. The IDF made sure of it. Whole blocks have been razed in demolitions only meant to destroy civil infrastructure. This is the most common war crime posted to IDF soldiers' social media accounts. One IDF soldier filmed the demolition of a residential building and shouted "so they will have nothing to come back to!"
If ethnic cleansing is genocidal in nature, the IDF has certainly committed genocide. However, every other definition of genocide seems to have been met as well. Much like Bosnia, males were separated from females and children and often executed. While mostly men seem to be the targets of executions, many women and even children seem to have been executed as well.
On April 15th, a quadcopter drone was recorded in Nuseirat refugee camp. It was apparently armed, and playing a recoding of a crying baby. Rumors had been circulating of drones killing Palestinians who came to help at the sound of these recordings, but this was the first video evidence. The man recording the video stated that someone had been killed by the drone the previous night. Apparently anyone who approaches will be shot by the quadcopter. The most high tech genocide in world history.
Compared to Rwanda, where the Hutus used AK-47s and machetes, this is a major "upgrade." Drones, remote guns and advanced armored vehicles are taking part in the destruction of civilians and their history. The IDF is protected by the Trophy active protection systems for their tanks, and the Iron Dome for their skies. Anything that Hamas fires is essentially a pea shooter, yet they call this a "war" in the media. Perhaps it could have been called a war in the early days of the conflict, but now it is so one sided as to just be an extermination.
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