Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, most Western media outlets have avoided using the term "genocide" to describe the scale of destruction. Instead, coverage framed the events as a "war", "conflict" or "counteroffensive", despite growing warnings from UN experts and rights groups.
But as Israeli forces systematically levelled Gaza’s remaining cities, killing over 58,000 Palestinians and injuring more than 139,000, that language has slowly started to change.
This week, The New York Times published a rare op-ed by genocide scholar and former Israeli soldier Raz Segal, who called Israel's actions in Gaza what they are - genocide.
Citing the September 2024 attack on the Al-Mawasi refugee camp, where over one million Palestinians were forced to flee before the area was bombed, Segal wrote: "I can recognise one when I see one," he wrote. "Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people."
As one of the world's most influential news outlets, the NYT's language choices carry significant weight since the term "genocide" has deep moral, legal, and historical implications, directly invoking obligations under international law such as the Genocide Convention.
The NYT has avoided this terminology in reference to Gaza. Internal memos have instructed staff to steer clear of words like "genocide" or "ethnic cleansing", reflecting long-standing editorial caution.
A break from that precedent, if this op-ed signals one, could be seen as the NYT aligning with UN bodies, human rights organisations, and scholars who have already used the term.
From denial to recognition
Until late 2023, major UK outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, and ITV largely avoided the term, even after dozens of UN experts warned of genocidal intent as early as October. By November, 41 UN experts described Gaza as facing “a genocide in the making”.
Still, much of the British media ignored or downplayed these warnings.
A study by the Centre for Media Monitoring found BBC World used the word "genocide" just twice on social media between October and December 2023, and interrupted guests more than 100 times for using the term. Israeli officials' own genocidal rhetoric was largely unchallenged.
By early 2024, however, international court rulings and mounting expert testimony began to force a shift in coverage.
Canadian outlet CBC came under fire for editorial guidelines banning the word "genocide" during interviews with Palestinians, while other outlets - including Time, The New Yorker, and Al Jazeera- began running in-depth pieces exploring whether the destruction met the legal threshold.
Between October and December alone, Al Jazeera published over 40 reports explicitly referring to genocide.
Similarly, The New Arab has used the term "genocide" to describe Israel's war on Gaza as early as 2024. TNA published several articles explicitly framing the events since October 2023, as genocide.
Evidence of intent
According to Haaretz, more than 174,000 buildings, roughly 70 percent of Gaza's infrastructure, have been destroyed or damaged.
Gaza's health ministry reports over 58,000 killed, including at least 17,000 children. Another 10,000 remain missing under rubble. Some 2,000 families have been entirely wiped out.
The Strip now has the world's highest number of child amputees per capita, while widespread malnutrition and psychological trauma threaten an entire generation.
Both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court have issued landmark rulings on Israel’s conduct, citing its illegal occupation, apartheid, and a "plausible" risk of genocide.