Michael Mansfield, a leading barrister who has worked on several high-profile cases throughout his career, has said Israel is carrying out “destruction of humanity” through its actions in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

Mansfield is among a group of lawyers who have submitted a 240-page report to the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Unit, accusing ten British citizens, including dual nationals, who have served in the Israeli army of war crimes in Gaza.

Asked how he would summarise the ongoing atrocities in Gaza, Mansfield said: “I would describe it as a mass assault and destruction of humanity. It doesn’t get worse than that.”

Responding to whether he would classify Israel’s action in Gaza as genocide, the lawyer said: “I do, yes, no question.

“[…] If you’re attacked by somebody holding a wooden spoon, you can’t use a machine gun to kill them. […] This has gone far beyond self-defence.”

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@aljazeeraenglish A leading human rights lawyer has spoken out after helping file a legal case against 10 #British nationals accused of war crimes in #Gaza, while fighting for #Israel. Michael Mansfield told Al Jazeera there’s a solid legal basis for challenging Israel’s abuses of international law, which he believes amount to genocide. #news #humanrights ♬ original sound - Al Jazeera English