Sen. Ted Cruz Criticizes U.N. Report That Accuses Israel of Genocide, Urges U.S. Action
Cruz calls the U.N. inquiry's findings 'antisemitic smears' and urges sanctions as U.N. officials and aid groups dispute aspects of the report
Sen. Ted Cruz on Tuesday condemned a United Nations commission's report that concluded Israel bore responsibility for genocide in Gaza, saying the finding was an antisemitic smear and urging the U.S. government to use sanctions and other tools against those behind the inquiry.
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (COI) issued a report on Sept. 16 that said "the State of Israel bears responsibility for the failure to prevent genocide, the commission of genocide, and the failure to punish genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip." In a statement to Fox News Digital, Cruz said the report "directly undermines American national security interests" by eroding Israel's freedom of action and by enabling "international lawfare" that could be used against U.S. servicemembers and citizens. He said the Trump administration and a Republican Congress have tools and sanctions that should be deployed against those involved.
Critics of the COI report in U.S. conservative and Jewish advocacy circles accused the inquiry of bias and of minimizing atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, when militants carried out mass attacks in Israel that killed and injured civilians. Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, said the report "promotes genocide — against Jews," arguing it rationalizes Hamas's actions as responses to Israeli wrongdoing and downgrades the scope of the Oct. 7 atrocities. Salo Aizenberg, director of media watchdog HonestReporting, disputed COI assertions that Israel imposed measures aimed at preventing births in Gaza and said the report overlooked that many of the Gaza fatalities were fighters.
The COI report also recommended that Israel ensure "full, unimpeded access of humanitarian aid at scale" to Gaza and called for an end to distribution of food aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private aid distributor that has operated at secure sites in the enclave. The inquiry cited public criticism of GHF by the commissioner-general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), who called the foundation "an abomination" and a "death trap." The COI assigned responsibility for alleged incitement to specific Israeli officials and said many other statements by Israeli leaders and some media commentators also amounted to incitement.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, asked about the inquiry, said a legal determination of genocide was not within his remit and belonged to judicial bodies such as the International Court of Justice, while describing the situation as "morally, politically, and legally intolerable." Stéphane Dujarric, a U.N. spokesman, did not respond to questions about whether comments by COI member Chris Sidoti — who said there were "many, many" statements that incite genocide — amounted to an attack on Israeli media. A COI spokesperson did not answer questions from Fox News Digital by press time.
Aid and logistics data cited by critics and U.N. agencies were prominent in disputes over the report's findings. GHF said it distributed 165 million meals at its secure distribution sites and disputed COI claims that its operations harmed beneficiaries; the foundation said the commission published the report "without ever contacting" GHF and called several allegations, including that children had been shot at distribution points, "not only false" but "reckless." U.N. statistics cited in coverage show a higher number of deaths along U.N. convoy routes than surrounding GHF sites for a specified period, and agencies have warned of armed looting and theft that have impeded aid deliveries.
According to U.N. data referenced by critics, only about 14.5% of U.N. aid trucks sent into Gaza since May reached their intended destinations, a figure attributed to armed looting and theft. The COI called on parties to ensure aid reached civilians and to cease practices it said endangered humanitarian operations. The report did not, according to some critics, include parallel recommendations targeting Hamas for its role in the Oct. 7 attacks.
Political reactions in Washington echoed long-standing U.S. divisions over Israel and the U.N. Cruz framed the COI report as part of an "ongoing response to Hamas' atrocities on Oct. 7" that he described as antisemitic. Anne Bayefsky and other conservative commentators urged stronger U.S. measures, arguing that withholding funds alone had not restrained the COI. Fox News Digital asked the State Department whether it would impose sanctions on COI members or block their travel to the U.N. for an upcoming General Assembly debate; a State Department spokesperson did not respond by press time.
The COI's report and subsequent U.S. and international reactions come amid continued fighting, widespread humanitarian need in Gaza and global concern about civilian suffering. Human rights organizations, U.N. officials and governments have repeatedly called for protected humanitarian access and adherence to international law. Israeli officials have defended military operations as necessary to defeat Hamas and prevent further attacks, while critics of Israel say some actions have disproportionately harmed civilians.
The commission's findings and the U.S. political response are likely to shape diplomatic debate at the U.N. General Assembly and in Washington in the coming days, as officials, rights groups and aid organizations continue to contest facts, legal interpretations and policy responses to the conflict.