Strip away slogans and political framing, and a more technical reality emerges, one shaped not by activists or headlines but by those who study and conduct war for a living. Senior military figures across Western institutions have reached a strikingly consistent conclusion about the Israel Defense Forces. Its conduct, while controversial and often scrutinized, does not align with the defining characteristics of genocide.

At the center of this debate is a crucial legal distinction that is often blurred in public discourse. Genocide, under international law, is not defined by destruction alone. It is defined by intent. Specifically, the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. This threshold is extraordinarily high and deliberately so. War can be brutal, even excessive or unlawful, without meeting that definition.

This is where the assessments of experienced military professionals become highly relevant. Richard Kemp, a former British commander in Afghanistan, has repeatedly argued that Israeli forces have implemented more measures to protect civilians than any military in comparable conditions. His evaluation is not........

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