Amnesty International's Israel branch distanced itself Thursday from the rights group's allegation that Israel was committing "genocide" in Gaza but said "serious crimes" were potentially taking place that needed investigation.
"While the Israeli section of Amnesty International does not accept the accusation that Israel is committing genocide, based on the information available to us, we are concerned that serious crimes are being committed in Gaza, that must be investigated," it said in a statement.
The London-based human rights organisation said its "genocide" finding, published on Thursday, was based on satellite images, fieldwork and ground reports from Gazans as well as "dehumanising and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials".
It was forcefully rejected by Israel, with the foreign ministry calling it "entirely false".
The statement from the Israeli branch of Amnesty is an unsual show of public dissent within the organisation.
Amnesty Israel insisted it had no involvement in the report, saying: "We were not among the initiators of the report, nor did we collaborate in its authorship or were involved in funding or approving the report."
The branch also said that while it rejected the accusations from Amnesty International, "a minority within our section disagrees".
It said there was "no dispute" that Israel's actions in the Gaza war "establish suspicions of widespread violations of international law and may amount to crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing".
It called for "significant efforts" to "stop the war immediately".