The four-day Gaza Tribunal, held at Istanbul University from Thursday to Sunday, brought together survivors, journalists and legal experts to testify about systematic violations and mass killings in the besieged enclave.

During the session, representatives from Witness Eye — a journalist-led media platform — submitted digital archives of testimonies from those living “under the shadow of genocide.”

“Witness Eye is a platform established by media professionals to digitally preserve testimonies of people who are truly living under the shadow of a genocide,” said a Witness Eye spokesperson.

“Over the past two years, we have collected video evidence from more than 100 people. It’s an honor to hand over this documentation that proves the genocide committed by the Israeli regime.”

The Association for Human Rights and Solidarity for the Oppressed (MAZLUMDER) also submitted reports based on eyewitness accounts.

“We are the eyewitnesses. You are recording history,” said a representative. “That’s why I’m submitting my reports to Mr. Richard and Steve June.”

The International Jurists Union delivered 13 detailed reports documenting crimes against civilians, journalists and institutions in Gaza over 700 days of investigation.

“We have over 250 cases of crimes committed by the occupation against journalists,” said a spokesperson. “We also documented crimes against civilians, land seizures, arrests, and desecration of the dead — all part of a war of extermination.”

The spokesperson added: “They are raping people. They are committing war crimes. They are occupying people. They are committing crimes against all humanity. This is the responsibility of all humanity.”

Presided over by Richard Falk, former UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, the tribunal’s jury of conscience includes Kenize Mourad, Christine Chinkin, Chandra Muzaffar, Ghada Karmi, Sami Al-Arian and Biljana Vankovska.

It aims to issue a final opinion on genocide, apartheid and systemic violations of international law by the Israeli regime.

Friday’s testimonies highlighted the regime’s destruction of schools, universities and Gaza’s intellectual infrastructure, which witnesses described as an attempt to erase the enclave’s future generations.

Palestinian mother Asmaa Albatash said, “They started bombing and targeting schools. Even if the war ends, it will be very difficult to return to education.”

Relief worker Nabeel Jumah said the regime “targeted Palestinian minds and competencies.”

Mathematician Sevjan Al-Shami described the total destruction of the Islamic University of Gaza.

“All of its buildings were destroyed,” he said. “The central library with hundreds of thousands of books is gone. Academic staff were targeted — the head of the university was martyred, along with many professors and administrators.”

Journalists shared testimonies of loss and despair. Abdelrahman Al-Himdiat said he lost all his academic work, while Mahmoud Haniyeh spoke of an entire generation deprived of learning.

“When we were young, our parents wanted us to be doctors or engineers,” Haniyeh said. “Today, we only want our children to be able to write and read.”

UNRWA media official Inas Hamdan said, “The schools we once taught in are now refugee camps housing hundreds of thousands of displaced people.”

Palestinian academic Sundus Zaqout emphasized education as Gaza’s last defense. “The most important thing is education,” she said. “Our weapon in Gaza is learning. That’s what they are trying to destroy.”

Experts at the Gaza Tribunal warned that the deliberate targeting of civilians, destruction of infrastructure, starvation tactics and systematic repression by the Israeli regime amount to crimes against humanity — demanding urgent international accountability.