SR staff in Gaza City: “Everyone is scared”
Many people are hesitant to leave Gaza City despite the escalating threat of an Israeli military offensive. Sveriges Radio staff member Sami Abu Salem says everyone is scared and is asking each other: “Should you leave or stay?”
The tent camps further south are full, there is no fresh water and many cannot afford the inflated prices for transportation.
A man SR spoke to says that he used to have a large villa with a swimming pool. Now he has nowhere to go and says he will stay in Gaza City and die there. Another woman is hesitant because she has two children with asthma and is worried about how they will cope. She also does not trust that al-Mawasi, where Israel has urged Palestinians to flee, is safe because many have been killed there as well.
IAGS Strikes Back: “Most Experts Agree Israel is Committing Genocide”
The academic organization IAGS has received a lot of attention since it ruled that Israel’s warfare in Gaza meets the legal criteria for genocide. The fact that the group is open to anyone to join has led to accusations that the resolution is not representative of the academic community.
However, IAGS chair Melanie O’Brien dismisses the idea that activism and anti-Israel views would have colored the resolution. In an interview with SR’s Studio ett, she says that the trend is clear and that most international experts now believe that Israel is committing genocide.
Criticism has come from, among others, IAGS member Sara Brown, a doctor in comparative genocide studies and regional director of the American Jewish Committee in San Diego. She has claimed that the organization previously consisted mainly of academics but that an increasing number of activists have joined.
This is also dismissed by the IAGS, which states that it has not seen a large influx of outsiders, and that the majority of its membership base consists of scholars in international law.
Another criticism has been that only 28 percent of its members participated in the vote that formed the basis for the resolution. O’Brien describes this as a normal level similar to what has happened with previous resolutions. However, the vote was anonymous and held digitally, which means that it is not possible to say more precisely which people have voted, according to SR.
Facts: The resolution from the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS)
In September 2025, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) adopted a resolution that states that Israel’s warfare in Gaza meets the criteria for genocide according to the 1948 UN Convention.
The resolution also states that the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 constitutes international crimes.
Who are the IAGS?
IAGS was founded in 1994 and is the world’s largest organization for genocide studies.
The organization is interdisciplinary and non-profit. It has about 500 members. Its members include scholars in history, law, political science, sociology and anthropology, but also activists, artists, journalists and Holocaust survivors.
The purpose is to promote research, teaching and awareness of genocide and to contribute to the prevention of new genocides.
The organization has previously adopted nine resolutions, including on the Armenian genocide, the Rohingya in Myanmar and the Uyghurs in China.
What was the voting process like?
The voting was conducted via email over 30 days. 28 percent of members participated and 86 percent of them voted in favor of the resolution. The organization’s president, Melanie O’Brien, has said that this level of turnout is normal for IAGS, but some members have expressed criticism of the process and questioned the conclusions of the resolution.
Sources: AP, Reuters, genocidescholars.org
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