For the first time, London’s Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has labeled the events in Gaza as a “genocide” targeting the Palestinian populace.

The remarks from the Labour mayor come in the wake of a United Nations inquiry that concluded Israel has engaged in acts of genocide against the people of Gaza.

In response, Israel’s foreign ministry firmly rejected the UN’s findings, condemning the report as “distorted and false.” They stated, “The report is based solely on falsehoods propagated by Hamas and echoed by others,” asserting that these claims had already been thoroughly discredited.

Sir Sadiq made these statements during a People’s Question Time session held in White City, west London, on Wednesday evening. This biannual event allows the mayor and assembly members to address questions on various topics, including transport, policing, and housing.

He expressed: “When I witness images of children suffering from starvation—20,000 children have perished due to Israeli governmental policies—when I observe the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system, the lack of vital supplies for those in need, the man-made famine, and read the interim judgment from the International Court of Justice alongside this week’s UN commission report, I find it impossible to avoid concluding that we are witnessing genocide in Gaza.”

Sir Sadiq’s statements come just before a meeting between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump on Thursday, alongside a scheduled press conference. Tensions have been ongoing between Mr. Trump and Sir Sadiq.

The UN report released on Tuesday posits that there are reasonable grounds to believe that four of the five genocidal acts defined by international law have occurred since the onset of the conflict with Hamas in 2023.

Previously, the UN inquiry determined that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups perpetrated war crimes and serious violations of international law on October 7, 2023.

This marked the start of an Israeli military response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas on southern Israel that left around 1,200 dead and 251 individuals taken hostage.

Since that time, reports from Gaza’s Hamas-led health ministry, which are considered reliable by the UN, indicate that at least 65,000 individuals have lost their lives due to Israeli assaults.

The vast majority of the population has faced repeated displacement, with an estimated 90% of homes either damaged or destroyed. Essential services such as healthcare, water, sanitation, and hygiene systems have collapsed, and UN-supported food security experts have declared famine in Gaza City.