TORONTO – Brooke Goldstein, founder and executive director of the Lawfare Project, disputed a recent United Nations commission report that accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, drawing on firsthand observations she said she made during a recent trip to the enclave with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Goldstein made her remarks on the Ben Mulroney Show and in related social posts.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, created by the Human Rights Council, said in a report this month that its investigators found evidence meeting most legal criteria of genocide in Gaza. The commission urged international action and highlighted widespread civilian deaths, attacks on civilian infrastructure, and severe restrictions on humanitarian access. The report has been published by the UN and widely reported by international agencies. Israel rejected the findings as unfounded and politically motivated.
Goldstein told host Ben Mulroney she entered Gaza with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to see conditions first hand. She said she observed substantial aid diversion and described circumstances that, in her view, complicate characterizations of the humanitarian situation. Goldstein posted on social media that she was permitted to enter Gaza with the foundation and that her visit informed her comments on the show.
On the program, Goldstein stressed that Hamas diverts aid and uses it to sustain its control, a claim she has made in recent interviews and posts. She told viewers that understanding how aid flows inside Gaza is central to assessing responsibility for the humanitarian crisis.
Critics of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation have urged caution about its operations and its role in aid distribution. The foundation, which began operating this year with U.S. and Israeli backing, has been praised by supporters for establishing new distribution hubs, but it has also faced scrutiny and denunciation from major humanitarian groups and UN experts who warned its model risks politicizing and militarizing aid delivery. Swiss authorities moved to dissolve a Geneva branch of the foundation amid legal questions. Journalists and aid agencies have reported deadly incidents near some distribution sites.
Goldstein’s on-the-ground account directly challenges the commission’s conclusions. She and other critics contend that the three-member panel displays an anti-Israel tilt and relied on a selective reading of incidents, official rhetoric, and patterns of conduct while underemphasizing evidence of Hamas’s obstruction and diversion of aid.
The commission’s calls to halt arms transfers and pursue legal accountability, they argue, risk singling out Israel without adequately addressing the role of Hamas in creating and sustaining the humanitarian crisis. The report has increased international pressure, but its findings remain contested and have sharpened a debate over how responsibility should be apportioned among all parties.
Goldstein leads the Lawfare Project, a New York-based legal advocacy group that brings litigation and other legal measures in defence of Jewish rights and against perceived discrimination and delegitimization of Israel. The organization has been an active participant in legal battles and public debate over campus and civic controversies. Her statements on the Ben Mulroney Show reflect that institutional background.
Observers said the competing narratives underscore the difficulty of establishing uncontested facts in a highly politicized environment. Some analysts said Goldstein’s on-the-ground account warrants investigation into aid distribution channels. Other experts stressed that the UN commission’s work is based on a broad review of evidence and should be addressed through legal and diplomatic mechanisms.
Goldstein encouraged journalists and investigators to scrutinize how aid is collected, secured and distributed inside Gaza and to differentiate the conduct of Hamas from the policy actions of Israel. Her appearance adds to the mounting public debate following the UN report and comes as international bodies consider legal and political responses.
This article is based on verified information from the Ben Mulroney Show YouTube broadcast and podcast, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights commission report, Reuters, the Associated Press, The Guardian, and public statements and posts by Brooke Goldstein and the Lawfare Project.