Since the start of the IsraelāHamas war on 7 October 2023, the UN Human Rights Council has identified "clear evidence" of war crimes by both Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces. [1] A UN Commission to the IsraelāPalestine conflict stated that there is "clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed in the latest explosion of violence in Israel and Gaza, and all those who have violated international law and targeted civilians must be held accountable." [2] [3] [4] On 27 October, a spokesperson for the OHCHR called for an independent court to review potential war crimes committed by both sides. [5]
The International Criminal Court confirmed that its mandate to investigate alleged war crimes committed since June 2014 in the State of Palestine extends to the current conflict. [6] [1] [7]
Determining the applicability of laws of war to militant groups is a difficult question, as both the Council of Europe and International Committee of the Red Cross note that international law treats war and terrorism as separate legal categories. [9] [10] The Israeli, American, EU, UK, Japanese, and Canadian governments define Hamas as a terrorist group. However, some disagree with this characterization and claim Hamas are not terrorists. [11] While the term "international law" pertains to states, it also applies to insurgent and terrorist armed forces. Even if an insurgency is deemed lawful ā meaning it meets the criteria of "just cause", it must adhere to the principles of "just means". Regarding Hamas and its combatants, even if they have a presumptive right to fight against what they term as an " Israeli occupation," they must still abide by legal rules of "discrimination", "proportionality", and "military necessity". [12]
On 9 October 2023 Human Rights Watch stated that Hamas's apparent targeting of civilians, indiscriminate attacks, and taking of hostages amounted to war crimes. [13]
On 10 October 2023 the OHCHR stated the taking of hostages and use of human shields were war crimes. [14] United Nations Human Rights chief Volker TĆ¼rk noted that militant groups' "horrifying mass killings" were violations of international law. [15]
On 12 October, Jens David Ohlin argued Hamas's attacks potentially violated Articles 6-8 of the Rome Statute. [16] Ohlin asserted the attacks might violate Article 6, if it could be proved the perpetrators had "genocidal intent". [16] On 7 October, as his forces were massacring civilians, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, stated in a speech the intent of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, saying, "We want to liberate our land, our holy sites, our Al-Aqsa mosque, our prisoners." He concluded with the statement "To [the enemy], we have only one thing to say to you: get out of our land. Get out of our sight. Get out of our city of Al-Quds [Jerusalem] and our al-Aqsa mosque. We no longer wish to see you on this land. This land is ours, Al-Quds is ours, everything [here] is ours. You are strangers in this pure and blessed land. There is no place of safety for you." [17]
According to Ohlin, militant groups violated Article 7 if there was evidence the attacks had been part of an organized "plan or policy". [16] Finally, Ohlin argued, the militant groups violated Article 8 by killing civilians. [16] On 7 October, the militant groups massacred civilians. [18] 260 were killed at the Re'im music festival, 112 at Be'eri, and 73 at Kfar Aza. [19] Victims were reportedly subject to immolation, dismemberment, and beheading. [20] On 15 October, a group of 100 Israeli and international law experts argued videos released on social media showed war crimes. [21] In early December 2023, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan visited Israel in response to a request from a group representing families of victims of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. He said that the attacks against Israeli civilians on October 7 constituted some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanityācrimes that the ICC was established to address. Khan emphasized the crimes were not random murders," and noted that Hamas "hunted down people" and that "children were kidnapped from their cots". He added that his office is willing to cooperate with Israel in investigating the events of October 7. [22] [23]
At the Re'im music festival massacre, Hamas militants massacred 270 civilians, methodically shooting fleeing and hiding attendees, as well as taking hostages, in the largest terror attack against a concert in history. Witnesses reported that some of the women were raped. [24] [25] [26] [27]
At the Be'eri massacre, approximately 70 Hamas militants massacred at least 130 people, approximately 10% of the population of Be'eri, including women, children, and infants. [28] When inside the kibbutz they went house to house, shooting or capturing the residents. [29] [30]
Hostage-taking is outlawed in non-international armed conflicts as per Article 1(b) of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and customary international humanitarian law, and is recognized as a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Hostage-taking is defined as detaining a person with threats to harm them to compel a third party to act or abstain from acting as a condition for the hostage's safety. Hostages can be civilians or individuals not actively partaking in hostilities, including surrendered or detained armed forces members. [31]
During the Hamas attack approximately 200 people were taken hostage by militants. [32] Hostages included women, children, elderly and even babies. [33] [34] [35] Under the Geneva Convention, taking hostages is described as a "grave breach". [36] [37] In response to Israeli airstrikes on civilian residences, Hamas threatened on 13 October to execute a hostage every time Israel bombed a home without giving advance warning. [38] Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch, asserted hostage-taking was a "heinous crime" with no justification. [39] Amnesty International noted the militant groups' actions ā including hostage-taking ā "flagrantly violated international law". [40]
The Israel Defense Forces allege that Hamas uses civilians as human shields. [41] [42] This allegation has received support from the UK, the US, Australia, and European Commission. [43] Al Jazeera notes, "Israel has, however, not provided concrete proof for its allegations." [44] The Israeli army further argued the militant groups' hostages were being used as human shields. [37] Human Rights Watch noted that using hostages, or any other person held in custody, as human shields is illegal. [31] On the counter side, Israeli Defense Forces have been accused of making no, or an inadequate distinction between Hamas forces and civilians. [45] [46]
All combatants, including insurgents, are bound by the law of war. Louis RenƩ Beres has analyzed the placing of military assets amid Palestinian civilian populations, in previous anti-terror wars against Hamas, categorizing this as a clear and punishable crime under international law. The act of perfidy is described as a "grave breach" in Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Placing military assets or personnel in civilian populated areas is forbidden by the Hague Regulations. Additionally, Protocol I of 1977, supplementing the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, contains related prohibitions on perfidy. These regulations are enforced not only through the mentioned treaties but also via customary international law, as indicated by Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. A, as underlined in Article 3, shared across the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. [12] Janina Dill, a laws of war professor at University of Oxford, stated, "Even if Hamas uses civilians as human shields, those civilians are entitled to full protection under international law unless they directly participate in the fighting". [47]
Hamas militants disguise themselves as civilians and hide weapons in schools, mosques and hospitals, which are violations of international law. [48] The Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions article 37, require distinguishing combatants from civilians, and providing for medical treatment of the wounded by designated units. [49] [50] [51] [52][ excessive citations]
During wartime, medical facilities are considered protected objects, and the use of them for military purposes is a war crime. Hamas has been condemned by the EU for using "hospitals and civilians as human shields". [53] Israel alleges it operates a major command and control center beneath Al-Shiba hospital. According to Amer Abu Awash, a member of Hamas' elite Nukhba Force, much of Hamas' underground infrastructure is beneath hospitals, placed there so that Israel "won't strike them". [54] [55] Abu Awash made this claim while handcuffed and undergoing IDF interrogation. [55]
Israel's claims have been refuted by medical staff and by international bodies. [56] Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a resident doctor at al-Shifa, called Israel's assertion of Hamas using the hospital an "outlandish excuse" to bomb it. [57] In response to the IDF allegations, Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, who has worked both at al-Shifa and al-Quds, stated Israel had a well-documented history of attacking civilian healthcare facilities without ever providing real evidence they were used in military capacities. [58] [59] [60] On 13 November, Israeli academic Neve Gordon stated Israel was "abusing laws of war" to justify its attacks on hospitals. [61]
On November 5, during the invasion of Gaza, the IDF released videos claiming Hamas fighters fired from the Sheikh Hamad Hospital. In response, Qatari official Mohammed El Emadi condemned Israel's claim, stating it was made "without concrete evidence or an independent investigation" and was a "blatant attempt to justify the occupation's targeting of civilian facilities." [62] The IDF video also showed an entrance to an underground complex, which according to the IDF led to the Hamas tunnel network. [63] An Al-Jazeera investigation found that the claimed "tunnel entrance" was instead a hatch for the hospital's water reservoir, which has existed since the hospital's construction. [64] In response to Israel's allegations, Hamas requested the United Nations to form an international committee to inspect hospitals and verify Israel's "false claims" that it uses them to fire rockets. [65]
On November 14, CNN visited what Israel described as a Hamas commander's house, situated between a school and a hospital, and saw a tunnel beneath it that Israel said led in one direction to the school, and in the other direction to the hospital. Visiting the hospital, Israel showed weapons that they said they found in an armory there, as well as unconfirmed indications that hostages may have been held there. [66] According to The New York Times, the origins of the weapons shown in the video could not be independently verified. [67] Charles Lister, Director of the Counterterrorism and Extremism Program at the Middle East Institute, stated the IDF footage clearly indicated that the basement was a bomb shelter. [68] Mohammed Zaqout, a Gaza Health Ministry official responsible for Gaza's hospitals, stated the basement was a shelter for women and children. [69]
In December 2023, The Washington Post analyzed the publicly released material by Israel, along with satellite imagery and other publicly available material, and concluded the rooms connected to a tunnel network did not show any evidence of being used by Hamas, and that each of the buildings IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari had identified as being "directly involved" in Hamas's military activity did not appear to be connected to any tunnel network. The Post stated there was no evidence released that showed a tunnel network could be accessed from the hospital wards. [70]
In February 2024, The New York Times analyzed the evidence, concluding that the tunnel likely connected to the broader tunnel network and that it could be accessed from buildings within the hospital complex, although not the individual wards. [71]
The 7 October attack included at least 3,000 rockets aimed toward Israel, with over 8000 being fired since the war began. [73] [74] The rockets hit as far away as Tel Aviv and the outskirts of Jerusalem. [75] Human Rights Watch termed the rocket attacks as indiscriminate. [13] [76] These have included repeated direct strikes on medical facilities, such as the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, including pediatric facilities at the Child Development Institute. [77] Human right organizations and scholars have condemned indiscriminate rocket attacks as a war crime. [76] [78]
According to Israeli military forensic teams, eyewitness testimony, and reported photographic, documentary and video evidence, Hamas militants raped, assaulted, and mutilated Israeli women and girls during the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. [79] [80] Military personnel reported that the bodies of the victims of the October 7 attacks showed multiple signs of rape and "severe stages of abuse". Hamas was accused of gender-based violence, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. [81] [82] [83] Hamas has denied the allegations of abuse. [79] Shelly Harush, the police officer leading the Israeli investigation recounted to the Times on 2 December 2023 "It's clear now that sexual crimes were part of the planning and the purpose was to terrify and humiliate people". [84]
Some hostages who were held by Hamas were also reportedly sexually abused. [85] An American official claimed that Hamas refused to release more hostages, ending the ceasefire agreement, to hide further evidence of sexual violence. [86] In late March 2024, Amit Soussana, in an interview with the New York Times, became the first Israeli hostage to publicly say she was sexually abused while in captivity by Hamas. [87] [88]
On January 6, 2024 Israeli military accused Hamas of using child soldiers, including to deliver explosive devices and to scout the battlefield in order to "assess the damage" on battlefields. They added that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had for years run summer camps in the Gaza Strip where children underwent military training. [89] Previously Ynet had reported that "a senior Hamas militant" captured by Israel had testified during interrogation that Hamas used children to carry explosives. [90] [91] The use and recruitment of children under 15 as soldiers is a war crime. [91]
As part of their participation in the IsraelāHamas war the Houthi militant group that rules part of Yemen has launched attacks against four civilian ships, and captured the Galaxy Leader and detained its crew. According to Human Rights Watch, such attacks and the taking of hostages constitute war crimes "if carried out deliberately or recklessly". [92]
Numerous charges of war crimes have been levied against Israel for its actions against civilians. These charges have come from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B'tselem, and human rights groups and experts, including UN rapporteurs. [93] Antony Blinken indicated the Biden administration has a "high tolerance" for whatever happens in Gaza. [94] On 27 October, the White House stated it had no red lines for Israeli actions. [95] [96]
In the first week of the war, the IDF carried out 6,000 airstrikes across Gaza, killing over 3,300 civilians and injuring over 12,000. [97] [98] The strikes hit specifically protected locations, including hospitals, markets, refugee camps, mosques, educational facilities, and entire neighborhoods. [99] A group of UN special rapporteurs asserted that Israel's airstrikes are indiscriminate, stating that the airstrikes are "absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime". [100]
A +972 Magazine investigation found the IDF had expanded authorization for bombing non-military targets. [101] Research conducted by Dr. Yagil Levy at the Open University of Israel confirmed the +972 report, stating Israel was "deliberately targeting residential blocks to cause mass civilian casualties". [102]
During two airstrikes on 10 October and 22 October, the IDF used Joint Direct Attack Munitions in attacks described by Amnesty International as "either direct attacks on civilians" or "indiscriminate attacks". [103] [104] On 24 October, UN Secretary-General AntĆ³nio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, after stating Israel had committed "clear violations" of international humanitarian law. [105] On 13 November, Israel shelled the Gaza Reconstruction Committee, leading three Arab states to condemn the attack, with Jordan calling it "a heinous war crime to add to Israel's criminal record." [106] On 12 January 2024, the spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights stated Israel's attacks were failing to account for distinction, proportionality and precautions, thus leaving Israeli exposed to liability for war crimes. [107]
Analyses by CNN, The New York Times, and Sky News all found that Israel had bombed areas it had previously told civilians to evacuate to. The Sky News investigation also concluded that Israel's evacuation orders had been "chaotic and contradictory", [108] NYT found that Israel had dropped 2,000-pound bombs in those areas, [109] while CNN stated it had verified at least three locations Israel bombed after telling civilians it was safe to go there. [110]
In February 2024, the IDF bombed and destroyed the Belgium government's Gaza development office. [111] In response, Belgium recalled the Israeli ambassador and condemned the "destruction of civilian infrastructure" as a violation of international law. [112] [a] On 6 February, the UN stated an Israeli assault on Rafah could lead to war crimes. [114]
On 22 March, Al Jazeera released a video retrieved from an Israeli drone showing four unarmed Palestinians in Khan Younis who were killed by Israeli air attacks. Two were killed instantly, and the others were killed while trying to stumble and crawl away. [115] Al-Jazeera reported that āit is clear from the pictures that these Palestinians were unarmed and posed no threat to anything or anyoneā. [116] This footage was described by the UN's special rapporteur Francesca Albanese as a part of the ācolossal amount of evidenceā of war crimes committed in Gaza by Israel. The IDF started the investigation of the footage and said that they had encountered militants in civilian clothes retrieving previously hidden weapons in that area. [117]
Amnesty International called Israel's indiscriminate attacks illegal and a violation of international law. Secretary General of Amnesty International AgnĆØs Callamard said the 16-year-old "illegal blockade has made Gaza the world's biggest open-air prison", and the international community must now act to avert it from becoming a giant cemetery. [118] Human Rights Watch reported that Israel has completely shut down communications and put lives at risk in Gaza by carrying out relentless airstrikes and damage to the main communications infrastructure, electricity cuts, fuel blockades, and deliberate shutdowns through technical measures. Deborah Brown, senior technology researcher at Human Rights Watch, said a deliberate shutdown, or restriction of Internet access, is a human rights violation and can be deadly during a crisis. A complete disruption of communications, such as that experienced in Gaza, can provide cover for crimes and impunity, while further undermining humanitarian efforts and putting lives at risk. [119]
According to Reuters, Israel laid siege to Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, and launched the most powerful bombing campaign in the 75-year-old history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, destroying entire neighbourhoods. Israeli ground forces then swept into Gaza with the stated aim of annihilating Hamas, which runs the enclave. [120] Following reports about Israel's use of automated systems for target selection, experts in international humanitarian law stated they were alarmed by accounts that the IDF was accepting "damage ratios as high as 20 civilians", even for lower-ranking militants. [121]
On 9 October, the IDF carried out a mass-casualty airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp market. [122] The attack resulted in the deaths of over sixty civilians and extensive damage to the market. [123] As a result of Israeli airstrikes in other areas, displaced individuals sought refuge in the camp, causing the market to be densely populated at the time of the strike. [124] An airstrike on 31 October 2023 that killed 106 civilians near the Nuseirat refugee camp was deemed an apparent war crime by Human Rights Watch. [125] On 1 November, following two airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp, the United Nations Human Rights Office stated, "We have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes." [126]
On the same day, the IDF carried out an airstrike on the densely populated Al-Shati refugee camp. [127] Palestinian media reported that this strike resulted in numerous civilian casualties and the destruction of four mosques, including the al-Gharbi mosque, Yassin mosque, and al-Sousi mosque, all of which were confirmed destroyed by satellite footage. [128] The airstrikes in the Al-Shati camp were described as a "massacre against an entire neighborhood" by the Ministry of Health. [129] [130]
On 24 December, 68 people were killed in an airstrike in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. According to Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum, the vast majority of victims were civilians. Azzoum also noted that the camp was one of the areas the IDF had previously told Gazans to evacuate to. Hamas called the attack a "massacre" and a "war crime". [131] Israel later determined that incorrect munitions were used in the attack and expressed regret that non-combatants were harmed. [132]
Under the Rome Statute, it is a war crime to intentionally attack places of worship in non-international conflict, as long as they are not "used by a party to a conflict for acts harmful to the enemy". [133] On 19 October, the Israeli Air Force damaged the Church of Saint Porphyrius in an attack which targeted a nearby command-and-control center, according to the IDF. [134] Hundreds of Christians and Muslims were sheltering in the church and the strike killed 16 people. [135] The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned it as "a war crime that cannot be ignored". [136] Following an investigation, Amnesty International stated the church strike was indiscriminate and should be investigated as a war crime. [137]
On 16 December, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem stated the Israeli army had killed two women sheltering at the Holy Family Parish, stating, "They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents." [138] Pope Francis described the Israeli attack on the church as terrorism. [139]
On 17 October, according to UNRWA, an Israeli airstrike hit a UNRWA school sheltering 4,000 refugees in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, killing six and injuring dozens. Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, called it "outrageous" and said that it showed "a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians". [140] [141] The UN accused Israel of lethally bombing three UN shelters on 2 November 2023. [142] On 27 December 2023, the UN stated Israel had killed 142 UN employees in Gaza thus far. [143] On 12 January 2024, the UN Secretary-General for Human Rights stated that at least 319 internally displaced persons were killed and 1,135 injured in UNRWA shelters. [144]
On 24 January 2024, the UN accused Israel of firing two tank shells into a refugee facility in Khan Younis, killing nine people and wounding 75. [145] [146] [147] Israel denied bombing the facility. [148] [b] Thomas White, a senior UN official in Gaza, called the attack part of "a consistent failure to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law". [150] The Palestinian Ministry of Education reported that 65 UN schools in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, which the Save the Children Israel-Palestine director called "beyond unconscionable". [151]
An independent United Nations expert said that Israel's widespread bombing of homes and civilian sites in Gaza and the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas are "war crimes". Israeli strikes have destroyed or damaged 45% of homes in the Palestinian territory, detailed Balakrishnan Rajagopal in a press release, saying this destruction had an "enormous cost in human lives". The UN Special Rapporteur stressed that the targeting of residential areas is strictly prohibited under international law. He stated that engaging in military actions with the knowledge that it will result in the deliberate destruction of civilian residences and infrastructure, leading to the uninhabitability of an entire city like Gaza City, constitutes a violation of international law. [152]
On November 5, an Israeli airstrike hit a car near Ainata, Lebanon, killing three children and their grandmother, and injuring their mother. The Israeli military admitted to striking the vehicle. [153] Human Rights Watch stated that their killings should be investigated as an apparent war crime. [154] Najib Mikati, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, called the attack a "heinous crime" and said that Lebanon would file a complaint to the U.N. Security Council. [153] Following an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry called it a "breach of international law and a serious violation of the Vienna agreements for diplomatic and consular relations". [155] The UN Human Rights Office said the attack "violated the prohibition on the use of armed force against another state". [156]
From 7 October to 17 December 2023, 135 United Nations relief workers were killed in the Gaza Strip, making it the deadliest conflict for UN workers in world history. [157] [158] By March 2024, at least 165 United Nations staff had been killed in Gaza since 7 October and more than 150 facilities attacked. [159]
Following the death of one of their aid workers ā the fifth American aid worker killed in Gaza ā the American Near East Refugee Aid released a statement: "We demand an independent investigation into his death, which threatens our teamās ability to function safely and deliver aid to civilians facing starvation". [160] In March 2024, Israel bombed a United Nations food distribution center, killing one UN staff member and wounding 22 others. [161] [c] It was one of the UN's last remaining distribution centers, leading UN humanitarian aid chief Martin Griffiths to state the UN's aid teams "must be protected". [163] [164]
A New York Times investigation showed six Western aid groups had humanitarian sites hit by Israeli strikes, even though the locations were shared with the IDF. [165] [166]
On 29 February 2024, more than 100 people seeking aid were killed in Gaza City during an incident that became known as the flour massacre. [167] Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra de Sutter stated the massacre was a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law". [168] Josep Borrell stated it was a serious violation of international humanitarian law. [169] The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the attack a crime against humanity. [170] The Omani Foreign Ministry called the attack a violation of international law. [171] Amnesty International announced it was launching an investigation. [172] The United Nations Human Rights Office also called for an investigation, stating it had "recorded at least 14 incidents involving shooting and shelling of people gathered to receive desperately needed supplies". [173]
On 1 April 2024, an Israeli drone fired three consecutive missiles at three cars belonging to the World Central Kitchen (WCK), killing seven aid workers who had been distributing food in the northern Gaza Strip. [174] According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the strikes brought the total number of aid workers killed since 7 October to 196 people. [175] The president of Refugees International called the killings "part of a clear pattern" and a war crime. [176] Doctors Without Borders stated the killings were an example of how "international humanitarian law is not respected". [177] The Polish Foreign Ministry stated, "Poland objects to the disregard for international humanitarian law". [178] The Cyprus Foreign Ministry stated, "[International humanitarian law] principles are absolute: humanitarian aid workers must always be respected and protected." [179] Ben Saul, a UN special rapporteur, stated, "It could well be a violation of international humanitarian law". [180] Jose Andres, the founder of World Central Kitchen, stated Israel needed "to stop this indiscriminate killing." [181]
OHCHR stated on 20 December it had received allegations of Israeli soldiers summarily killing at least eleven unarmed men in Rimal. [182] Al Jazeera reported that the number summarily executed was 15, killed during an apartment raid. The execution was witnessed by the families of the men. [183] Middlesex University professor William Schabas stated, "It's not really important to demonstrate that they're civilians. Summary executions even of fighters, even of combatants is a war crime." [184] Euro-Med Monitor told Al Jazeera they believe there is a pattern of "systematic" killing, that "In at least 13 of field executions, we corroborated that it was arbitrary on the part of the Israeli forces." [185] On 26 December 2023, Euro-Med Monitor submitted a file to the International Criminal Court and United Nations special rapporteurs documenting dozens of cases of field executions carried out by Israeli forces and calling for an investigation. [186] [187] [188] In March 2024, video of an IDF soldier bragging about killing an elderly deaf man hiding under his bed was released, leading the Council on American-Islamic Relations to condemn the killing as an execution and war crime. [189] [190] The Israeli military stated they would begin a probe into the incident. [191]
Defense officials told Haaretz that the Israeli army had created kill zones in Gaza, in which any person who crossed an "invisible line" was killed. [192]
A mass grave with 283 bodies was uncovered in April 2024 at Khan Younis's Nasser medical complex in the southern Gaza city. 30 bodies were buried in two graves in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. [193] [194] Reportedly, bodies were found with their hands and feet tied. [195] Following the discovery of the mass graves, UN human rights chief Volker TĆ¼rk called for an independent investigation on the intentional killing of civilians by the IDF. [196] A spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights described the discoveries, stating, "Some of them had their hands tied, which of course indicates serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and these need to be subjected to further investigations". [197] William Schabas, a Canadian expert on international human rights law, stated mass graves have "always been an indication that war crimes have been committed". [198]
A report in early November 2023 listed over 100 significant archeological and antiquities sites, libraries, religious sites and places of ancient historical importance that Israel had partly or completely destroyed. [199] [200] [134] [201] [202]
In January 2024, The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Gaza estimated that 104 mosques had been damaged or destroyed since the start of the conflict. [203] BBC has verified 74 cases where religious sites were damaged or destroyed, of which 72 were mosques and two were churches. [204] The Nation wrote that the destruction of the Great Omari Mosque in particular, originally a fifth-century Byzantine church, was "a crime against cultural heritage. But more importantly... part of a campaign of total annihilation... a deliberate element of the Israeli campaign to erase all traces of Palestinian life.". [205]
Some notable places that Israel destroyed or damaged are: [201] [206]
Name | Type | Dated to | Damage | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ahmed Yassin mosque Al-Shati, Gaza City |
mosque | destroyed | Oct. 9, 2023 [207] | |
Al Amin Muhammad Mosque, Khan Yunis | mosque | destroyed | Oct. 20, 2023 [208] | |
Anthedon Harbour | historic | 800 BCE | destroyed | unknown date |
Ard-al-Moharbeen Roman cemetery, northern Gaza discovered 2022 containing 125+ tombs and two rare lead sarcophagi |
historic | 1st c. CE | Almost completely destroyed (bombardment) | |
Deir al-Balah museum | cultural | |||
Gaza Municipal Library [200] | cultural | 1999 | destroyed | |
Al-Gharbi mosque, Gaza City | mosque | destroyed | Oct. 9, 2023 [207] | |
Great Omari Mosque | cultural/mosque | 1277 | destroyed | Dec. 8, 2023 |
Holy Family Church | church | 1974 | Damaged | Nov. 4, 2023 |
Jabalia Byzantine Church | church | 444 CE | destroyed | Oct. 2023 |
Jaffa Mosque in Deir al-Balah | mosque | Destroyed | Dec. 2023 [209] [210] | |
Al-Mathaf al-Funduq museum | cultural | 2008 | destroyed | Nov. 3, 2023 |
Othman bin Qashqar mosque | mosque | 1220 | damaged | Dec. 7, 2023 |
Qalaat Barquq
[199] Mamluk Sultan Barquq's Fort, Khan Yunis |
historic | 1387 | ||
Al-Qarara Cultural Museum | cultural | 2016 | destroyed | Oct. 2023 |
Qasr al-Basha (Radwan Castle, Pasha's Palace Museum) | historic | 1200s | damaged | Dec. 11, 2023 |
Rashad El Shawa Cultural Center | cultural | 1988 | destroyed | unknown date |
Al-Sammara Hamam | historic | pre-Islam | destroyed | Dec. 8, 2023 |
Sayed al-Hashim Mosque | mosque | 1100s | Damaged | Oct. 2023 |
St. Hilarion Monastery (Tell Umm Amer) | church | ca. 340 CE | Damaged | unknown date |
St. Porphyrius Church | church | 425 CE | Damaged | Oct. 18, 2023 |
Tell el-Ajjul fortified city | historic | 2000ā1800 BCE | Damaged | unknown date |
Israel has damaged or destroyed at least sixteen cemeteries across the Gaza Strip, [211] in some cases, creating dirt roads across them or establishing military positions. The intentional destruction of religious sites without military necessity is a possible war crime. [212] [213] On 21 December, bulldozers destroyed a cemetery in the Al-Saha neighborhood in eastern Gaza. [214] [215] On 6 January 2024, Palestinians in Tuffah reburied bodies after the Israeli army reportedly exhumed them and smashed their graves. [216] Gazans in Khan Younis reported the Israeli army raided a cemetery and took corpses. [217] [218] The Khan Younis cemetery was reportedly bulldozed over, tombstones crushed, and human remains were visible. [219] Muna Haddad, a lawyer on the treatment of the dead, stated, "What is happening is... considered a war crime of 'committing outrages upon personal dignity' under the Rome Statute." [211] On 27 January 2024, Israeli forces escorted CNN into Gaza in an attempt to explain the destruction of Bani Suheila cemetery, through which a tunnel ran, according to the IDF; but during the three hour visit, Israeli commanders failed to prove their claim. [220] Moreover, the IDF did not permit CNN to see any alleged entrance to the tunnel inside the cemetery, and later provided drone footage of two tunnel entrances, both located outside the cemetery. CNN broadcast footage of completely destroyed, and dug-up cemetery grounds. [221]
It is an entire nation out there that is responsible. It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It's absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d'etat.
ā Isaac Herzog [222]
Several actions taken by the Israeli army, including its blockade on electricity, food, fuel and water, were characterized as collective punishment, a war crime prohibited by treaty in both international and non-international armed conflicts, more specifically Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II. [223] [224] Israel's president Isaac Herzog accused the residents of Gaza of collective responsibility for the war. [225] [d] [227] Doctors Without Borders international president Christos Christou said millions of civilians in Gaza faced "collective punishment" due to Israel's blockade on fuel and medicine. [228] [229]
In an interview with The New Yorker, human rights expert Sari Bashi noted the historical uniqueness of Israeli officials openly admitting they are engaging in collective punishment. [230] On 18 October, UN Secretary-General AntĆ³nio Guterres stated Hamas' attacks "cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people." [231] On 24 October, Human Rights Watch criticized Israel's refusal to allow fuel or water into a Gaza, terming it a war crime. [232] On 29 October, Karim Ahmad Khan stated Israel's impeding aid to Gaza may constitute a crime under the International Criminal Court. [233] On 7 December, Khan again stated "wilfully impeding relief supplies" may constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute. [234] On 20 January 2024, the IDF dropped leaflets with hostages' images on Rafah, stating, "Do you want to return home? Please make the call if you recognise one of them." [235] On 25 January 2024, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that Israeli troops had fired upon and killed twenty civilians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza City. [236] [237]
On 31 January 2024, Haaretz reported that Israeli army commanders were ordering troops to burn down and destroy unoccupied buildings in Gaza. [238] According to Human Rights Watch: "Unlawful and wanton excessive destruction of property that is not militarily justified, is also a war crime." [239] On 16 April 2024, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office stated, "Israel continues to impose unlawful restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance, and to carry out widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure". [240] The Irish foreign minister MicheƔl Martin called Israel's actions "fully disproportionate and... a breach of humanitarian law in terms of the destruction of Gaza". [241]
As part of Israel's blockade on Gaza, water supplies from Israel were cut off. [242] [243] Article 51 of the Berlin Rules on Water Resources bars combatants from removing water or water infrastructure to cause death or force its movement. [244] The EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell called Israel's cutting off water, electricity and food as "not in accordance with international law". [245] On 14 October, the UNRWA announced Gaza no longer had clean drinking water, and two million people were at risk of death from dehydration. [246] On 15 October, Israel announced it had resumed supplying water to a single location in southern Gaza to "encourage" movement. [247] [248] Aid workers in Gaza refuted water was available. [249] By 16 October, civilians drank seawater and water contaminated with sewage to survive. [250]
Tufts University law professor Tom Dannenbaum wrote that Israel's initial October 2023 siege order "commands the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, which is a violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime". [251] On 25 October 2023, Oxfam stated Israel's use of "starvation as a method of war" was a violation of international law, and that Gaza was being "collectively punished in full view of the world". [252] In March 2024, the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, stated Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war. [253] Similarly, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker TĆ¼rk, stated, "The extent of Israelās continued restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime". [254]
Human Rights Watch stated Israel was committing a war crime by using starvation as a method of warfare. [255] Alex de Waal stated it was the worst man-made famine in 75 years. [256] Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former chief prosecutor for the ICC, stated, "Stopping aid in particular to destroy civilian life ā with intention to destroy a historical community ā is genocide." [257]
EuroMed Monitor described the situation as a war of starvation against civilians in the Gaza Strip. EuroMed noted living conditions had reached catastrophic levels by Israel cutting off all food supplies to the Northern half, and bombing and destroying factories, bakeries, food stores, water stations, and tanks throughout the entire enclave. EuroMed additionally noted Israel deliberately focused its attacks on targeting electrical generators and solar energy units, on which commercial facilities and restaurants depend, to maintain the minimum possible level of their work. Israel also targeted the agricultural areas east of Gaza, flour stores, and fishermen's boats, as well as relief organizations' centers, including those belonging to the UNRWA. As a result, over 90% of the children in Gaza suffered from varying health issues, including malnutrition, anemia, and weakened immunity. [258] Israeli snipers reportedly targeted people waiting for humanitarian aid. [259]
Israel is alleged to have broken medical neutrality, a war crime under the Geneva Conventions as hospitals are given special protection under international humanitarian law. [260] [261] These attacks have been carried out in a manner that aid groups and international bodies are increasingly referring to as systematic. [262] According to Gaza officials, the IDF deliberately targeted ambulances and health facilities with airstrikes. [263] [264] In a statement, the Palestine Red Crescent demanded "accountability for this war crime". [265] The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, UNRWA, and Medecins Sans Frontieres reported the deaths of their medical personnel. [266] [267] On 14 October, the World Health Organization said the killing of health care workers and the destruction of health facilities "denies civilians the basic human right of life-saving health" and is prohibited by International Humanitarian Law. [268] [269] On 17 October, WHO stated 51 health facilities had been attacked by Israel. [270] [271] On 4 November, the Gaza Health Ministry stated 105 medical facilities had been deliberately targeted. [272]
On 21 October, the Ministry of Health noted Israel had attacked 69 health facilities, 24 ambulances, put 7 hospitals out of commission, and killed 37 medical staff. [273] Health workers and aid groups said several hospitals in Gaza were hit by airstrikes and shelling. The Palestine Red Crescent Society accused Israel of "deliberately" carrying out airstrikes "directly around" Gaza's second-largest hospital, al-Quds Hospital, in north Gaza, to force them to evacuate the facility. The World Health Organization (WHO) found it impossible to evacuate the hospital. According to CNN, even those who evacuated south have not been safe. [274] On 30 October 2023, a Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, located in the south of Gaza, was struck by a "direct hit", causing damage and injuries. [275] [276]
On 3 November, an Israeli airstrike hit an ambulance convoy departing from al-Shifa Hospital carrying, according to a Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman, 15-20 critically injured patients. [277] The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying one of the ambulances was being used by a "Hamas terrorist cell", and was close to their position. [278] In response, Yanis Varoufakis noted, "Even if the ambulance was carrying a Hamas overlord, bombing it violates the Geneva Convention." [279] UN chief AntĆ³nio Guterres stated he was "horrified" by the attack. [280] In prior weeks, Israel had released an animated video stating Al-Shifa hospital contained a hidden, top-secret underground military center. [281] This was flatly denied, with Hamas stating Israel was using "prefabricated" evidence to pre-empt a military strike on a hospital. [282] Laws of war provide limited protections to medical facilities used in such capacities. [283] HRW stated the strikes were apparently unlawful and should be investigated as a possible war crime. [284]
During the Siege of Gaza City, Israeli snipers reportedly fired on the intensive care unit in Al-Quds Hospital, killing one person and wounding 28. [285] Doctors in Al-Shifa Hospital reported snipers at the outskirts of the complex were firing at "any moving person". [286] Fabrizio Carbone, the Middle East regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, stated Israel's attacks on al-Shifa Hospital could not continue, stressing patients and hospital staff should be "protected in line with the laws of war". [287] In response to the Al-Shifa Hospital siege, Human Rights Watch stated Israel's actions against hospitals need to be investigated as war crimes. [288] Jennifer Cassidy, a legal expert at University of Oxford, stated Israel's siege on al-Shifa was a war crime "plain and simple". [289] Following an Israeli attack on Indonesia Hospital, the Indonesian Foreign Minister called it a clear violation of international humanitarian law. [290]
On 18 November 2023, two people were killed while traveling in a clearly identified Doctors Without Borders evacuation convoy in Gaza City. [291] Doctors Without Borders termed it a "deliberate attack." [292] On 16 December, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called for an international investigation into Israeli war crimes at the Kamal Adwan Hospital. [293] On 17 January 2024, Israeli fire damaged the Jordanian field hospital, leading the Jordanian army to call it a "flagrant breach of international law". [294] On 19 January, Jordan stated Israel had "deliberately" targeted the hospital. [295] The World Health Organization stated on 24 January it had recorded 660 Israel attacks on healthcare facilities, calling them "a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law". [296] On 31 January, Doctors Without Borders stated Israel had conducted "systematic attacks on health facilities" which they stated was unprecedented for their organization. [297]
On 8 February, the Palestinian Red Crescent accused the IDF of deliberately killing one of their paramedics. [298] On 11 February, the Red Crescent accused the IDF of deliberately targeting and killing two of their paramedics sent to rescue Hind Rajab, calling the killing a war crime. [299] [300] In response to an Israeli attack at the Al-Aqsa Hospital on 31 March 2024, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, "The ongoing attacks and militarisation of hospitals must stop. International humanitarian law must be respected." [301]
Israel alleges medical facilities are used to store weapons and have been used as a base of fire, and that hospitals' special protection is lost if that is the case. [66] However, the IDF has not presented hard evidence to support their claims. [302] Israel also does not have the power to unilaterally decide if a hospital has lost protected status. [302] According to International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, the bar for evidence that a hospital, school, or place of worship is being used for military purposes is very high. [303] The burden of proof also lays with the Israelis. [304] Jessica Wolfendale, an expert in military ethics at Case Western Reserve University, stated that even if Israel had been able to prove Shifa concealed a military operation, international law remains in place, as, "Steps need to be taken to protect the innocent." [304] A hospital attack is also still illegal under international law if it harms civilians disproportionately to the military objective. [304]
Ardi Imseis, an international law expert at Queen's University at Kingston, stated, "Until such time that the Israelis provide proof that it has been converted into a military object, the civilian nature of the object does not change." [305] Human Rights Watch stated, "The Israeli government has put forward no evidence that would justify stripping hospitals of their special protections." [306] [307] [308] The OHCHR stated, "Even if Israel contends that a medical facility has lost its protection... it must nevertheless comply with the principles of precautions and proportionality." [309]
On 1 November, Reporters Without Borders asked the International Criminal Court to begin a priority war crimes investigation into the killing of nine journalists. [310] RSF noted that of the 41 journalists killed in the first month of the conflict, 36 among them were Palestinian reporters killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip. [311]
In an interview with NPR, Jodie Ginsberg, the president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, called for an ICC investigation into the killing of journalists in Gaza, stating the killings "appear to have been targeted". [312] On 27 January 2024, the International Federation of Journalists wrote an open-letter to Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant stating they would take Israel to court if it did not comply with the ICJ's order to avoid targeting journalists. [313] In February 2024, the deputy director of the International Federation of Journalists stated, "There appears to have been a systematic campaign to kill and terrify and maim journalists in Gaza". [314]
On 13 February 2024, the Al Jazeera Media Network stated Israel had attacked two of its journalists in Gaza, calling it "a full-fledged crime added to Israel's crimes against journalists, and a new part in the series of the deliberate targeting of Al Jazeera's journalists". [315] A representative from Media Defence stated, "Journalists are civilians so they are entitled to all the protections that civilians should have in times of conflict". [316] The director of the International Press Institute stated, "We see journalists clearly targetedā¦ Our organisation has been monitoring press freedom for almost 75 years and this is the worst attack we have seen on journalists in any conflict". [317]
Reporters Without Borders conducted a preliminary investigation into the killing of Issam Abdallah, a Reuters photojournalist killed in Lebanon, and found that the strike on a clearly marked vehicle marked "Press" was purposely targeted and that the fire had come from Israel. [318] An investigation by the Agence France Press found Abdallah's killing was used with tank shells of Israeli origin and were deliberate and targeted. [319] Amnesty International stated the attack was a likely war crime and that "Israel must not be allowed to kill and attack journalists with impunity." [320] Human Rights Watch stated the attack was apparently deliberate and a war crime. [321] A study by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research found it likely "that a Merkava tank, after firing two tank rounds, also used its machine gun against the location of the journalists". [322]
A February 2024 report by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon concluded that an Israeli tank killed Abadallah when it fired at "clearly identifiable journalists", and that this broke international law. [323] The report "assessed that there was no exchange of fire across the Blue Line at the time of the incident", with no records of any exchange of fire across the border for the 40 minutes before the tank firing. [323] The Israel Defense Forces responded to the United Nations report by claiming that Hezbollah attacked them, so tank fire was used to retaliate. [323] The report concluded that the attack was a violation of UNSCR 1701 and international law. [324]
Following the Israeli killing of Samer Abu Daqqa, Al Jazeera stated it was referring the incident to the International Criminal Court. [325]
On 13 October, the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million people from north Gaza, saying that they needed to separate the civilian population from the militants embedded among them, and that the population would be allowed to return after the war. [326] Gazan officials initially asked residents to ignore the order, with the Interior Ministry stating Israel sought to "displace us once again from our land". [327] The evacuation was characterized as a forcible transfer by Jan Egeland, a Norwegian diplomat involved with the Oslo Accord. [328] Egeland stated, "There are hundreds of thousands of people fleeing for their life ā [that is] not something that should be called an evacuation. It is a forcible transfer of people from all of northern Gaza, which according to the Geneva Convention is a war crime." [328] UN Special rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned of a mass ethnic cleansing in Gaza. [329] Israeli historian Raz Segal termed it a "textbook case of genocide." [330] The action was condemned by the UN, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, and the IRC. [331]
On 14 October, the World Health Organization issued a statement condemning Israel's order to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza, calling it a "death sentence". [332] [333] Doctors noted both the southern Gaza Strip's lack of hospital beds and the impossibility of transporting patients, such as newborns in incubators and patients on ventilators. [334] Nevertheless, on 22 October, the IDF dropped leaflets in northern Gaza stating anyone who did not comply with the evacuation would be considered a "terrorist". [335] On 20 December, Human Rights Watch stated the risk of forced displacement was growing. [336] On 12 January, the Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights stated that Israel's compelled evacuations had failed to ensure protections required under international law, thus constituting a potential war crime. [144] In March 2024, Forensic Architecture stated that Israel's "humanitarian evacuations" might amount to the war crime of forced displacement. [337]
In March 2024, Paula Gaviria Betancur, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of internally displaced persons, stated ahead of Israel's planned Rafah offensive: "Any evacuation order imposed on Rafah under the current circumstances, with the rest of Gaza reduced to rubble, would be a flagrant violation of international humanitarian and human rights law." [338] French president Emmanuel Macron told Netanyahu that a forced transfer of the population from Rafah would be a war crime. [339]
Israel sought to create an expanded buffer zone in Gaza. Satellite analysis by researchers at Hebrew University found the buffer zone was already in advanced stages. [340] By January 2024, Israel had destroyed more than 1,000 buildings for the planned zone. [341] In April 2024, UNOSAT found that around 90 percent of the 4,000 buildings on Gaza's eastern border had been damaged or destroyed. [342] The Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated such civilian properties were protected under international humanitarian law. [343] Shaul Arieli, a former IDF colonel and expert on Israeli borders, stated that the creation of a permanent buffer zone was illegal, since Israel is prohibited from altering the boundaries of Gaza as an occupying power. [344] Geoffrey Nice, a war crimes prosecutor, stated, "It is unjustified, by any view, under international law." [345] Volker TĆ¼rk, the UN human rights chief, stated, "Extensive destruction of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly, amounts to a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and a war crime." [346] An analysis by Haaretz found the buffer zone could occupy as much as 16 percent of Gaza's overall territory. [347]
During the war, soldiers looted Palestinian homes in Gaza, reportedly taking "whatever is easy and accessible". [348] On 21 February 2024, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the IDF's Military Advocate General, stated that some soldiers' actions ā including looting and the removal of private property ā had "crossed the criminal threshold". [349] Tomer-Yerushalmi stated such cases were under investigation. [350] The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the looting a war crime and demanded the Biden administration to condemn them. [351] The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly prohibits the looting of civilian property during wartime. [352] [353] [354]
During the war, the Israeli military was increasingly active in the West Bank. According to Amnesty International, Israel violated international humanitarian law by using disproportionate force during arrest raids, blocking medical assistance to people with life-threatening injuries, attacking paramedics, and conducting unlawful killings. [355] Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty's director of global research, stated, "These unlawful killings are in blatant violation of international human rights law and are committed with impunity". [356] On 5 March, the Palestinian Red Crescent stated that it had recorded 427 violations against its medical mission by Israel in the West Bank, terming these a violation of international humanitarian law. [357]
Following the demolition of a Palestinian activist's family home in East Jerusalem ā part of a broader wave of forced displacement in the West Bank [e] ā the European Union External Action Service stated, "Such acts are in violation of International Humanitarian Law". [359] George Noll, head of the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs, condemned the demolition. [360] Following the Israeli approval of around 3,500 new illegal settlements in the West Bank, UN human rights chief Volker TĆ¼rk stated the transfer of Israel's population into the occupied territories was a "war crime under international law". [361] [362] Following the announcement that Israel was seizing 800 hectares of Palestinian land in the West Bank, the Federal Foreign Office stated, "The settlements violate international law and fuel further tensions in this extremely fragile situation." [363]
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International's Crisis Evidence Lab shared evidence that Israeli military units striking in Gaza and Lebanon have employed white phosphorus artillery rounds; Israel denied the report, calling the accusation "unequivocally false". [364] White phosphorus munitions are allowed on battlefields for specific purposes such as creating smokescreens, generating illumination, and marking targets. They are not banned as chemical weapons under international conventions due to these legitimate uses. [364] [365]
White phosphorus is used in smoke, illumination, and incendiary munitions, and ignites when exposed to atmospheric oxygen. Upon contact, it can cause deep and severe injuries, potentially leading to multiple organ failure, and even minor burns can be fatal. White phosphorus is considered an incendiary weapon, and Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons prohibits their use against military targets located among civilians, although Israel is not a signatory. [366] According to Human Rights Watch, the use of white phosphorus is "unlawfully indiscriminate when airburst in populated urban areas, where it can burn down houses and cause egregious harm to civilians", and "violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life". [367]
According to Amnesty International weapons investigator Brian Castner, whether this particular case constitutes a war crime depends on "the intended target of this attack, and the intended use", but that, "generally, any attacks that fail to discriminate between civilians and military forces can potentially be a violation of the laws of war". [368] On 31 October, after an investigation, Amnesty International stated that an October 16 Israeli white phosphorus attack was indiscriminate, unlawful, and "must be investigated as a war crime", due to its use on the populated Lebanese town of Dhayra, which injured at least nine civilians. [369] [370] On 2 November, Amnesty International stated its investigations into four incidents on October 10, 11, 16 and 17 showed Israel had used white phosphorus munitions. [371] In Lebanon, Israel's white phosphorus bombs have destroyed over 4.5 million sq m of forest in southern Lebanon with the economic loses being valued at nearly 20 million dollars. [372] An investigation by the Washington Post uncovered that white phosphorus used in an October attack that injured 9 people in Lebanon were supplied by the US. [373]
On 10 October, the Israeli Defence Force published a video that appeared to show IDF soldiers shooting four surrendering Palestinians. [374] [375] Footage analysis indicated the men appeared to be surrendering, with three men getting on the ground with their arms raised, one waving a piece of white clothing. None of them appeared to be armed at the time of the shooting, while a subsequent video showed the bodies had been moved, with weapons placed near them on the ground. The analysis concluded the four men were unarmed Palestinians who left Gaza through a breach in the separation wall. [374] An IDF spokesman said he had no comment. [374] Killing surrendered civilians or combatants is a war crime. [376] [377]
In video footage dated 8 December 2023, the Israeli military is seen killing two Palestinians from the West Bank's Far'a refugee camp in what B'Tselem described as "illegal executions". One man holding a cannister was shot, and was then gunned down while he laid bleeding on the ground. A second man, who was completely unarmed and hiding under a car, was shot and killed instantly. The Israeli military later said they would investigate the attacks. [378]
Human rights groups documented multiple instances of civilians in Gaza being shot by Israeli soldiers while waving white flags. [379] The Human Rights Watch Israel-Palestine director stated Israel had a "track record of unlawfully firing at unarmed people who pose no threat with impunity ā even those waving white flags". [380] [f] In early January, a video surfaced dating to 12 November showing displaced Palestinians evacuating Gaza City, including a woman and her child. Despite the group clearly carrying white flags, the woman was reportedly shot and killed by an Israeli sniper. [382]
On 24 January 2024, British network ITV released footage of an Israeli sniper shooting and killing a man carrying a white flag whom the journalist had interviewed only moments before his death. [383] Both the Norwegian Refugee Council and Amnesty International termed it a possible war crime. [384] An IDF senior commander later stated, "There are mistakes, it is war." [385]
According to a witness interviewed by Al Jazeera, the corpses of 30 people were found on 31 January 2024 inside a schoolyard in northern Gaza, with the bodies reportedly blindfolded, and their legs and hands tied. [386] [387] [388] The Council on American-Islamic Relations said the incident should be probed and added to South Africa's ICJ case against Israel. [389] The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it a "violation of all relevant international norms and laws". [390] The Canadian-Palestinian former peace negotiator Diana Buttu stated the incident was "clearly a war crime". [391] In March 2024, a man in Zeitoun was deliberately run over by an Israeli tank while handcuffed, according to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. [392] [393]
Footage obtained by Al Jazeera English showed two men waving white flags being killed by Israeli forces, then buried by army bulldozers. [394] The IDF confirmed the killing of the two men, stating they had been acting in a "suspicious manner" and didn't respond to warning shots; they said they buried them with bulldozers as they feared they were carrying explosives. [395] The Palestine Red Crescent Society condemned Israel's actions as "extrajudicial killings". [396] The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the killings a "heinous war crime". [397]
On 15 December, the IDF released a statement announcing that they had killed three of their own hostages by friendly fire. According to the Israeli military, they "mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat" during operations in Shuja'iyya and subsequently fired at them, killing them. [398] [399] [400] According to an Israeli military official on 16 December, the three hostages were shirtless and waving a white flag. The official claimed that one soldier responded to this by "open[ing] fire" and "declar[ing] that they're terrorists"; more Israeli forces fired, killing two hostages "immediately" and wounding the third hostage, who appealed for help in Hebrew. [401] The wounded hostage was pursued into a nearby building by IDF soldiers, where he was killed despite continued pleas for help. [402] Though he claimed that the soldiers were "under pressure" when this happened, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi also stated that "It is forbidden to shoot at someone who raises a white flag and seeks to surrender", a sentiment echoed by the former head of Mossad, Danny Yatom. [403] Nahum Barnea wrote that the killing of the hostages, unarmed and waving a white flag, was a "war crime" and that "international law is very clear on the issue". [404] [405] A preliminary IDF investigation found the soldiers were told to open fire on all fighting-age men who approached them, after a number of incidents where militants disguised themselves as civilians to approach soldiers. [406]
On 30 January 2024, Israeli forces entered the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin disguised as medics and civilians while carrying concealed rifles. [407] After entering the hospital they drew their weapons and killed three militants ā one member of Hamas and two members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad ā one of whom was a patient. [408] [409] [410] The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed concern that the raid was a violation of international humanitarian law. [411] Aurel Sari, a professor at the University of Exeter, stated, "By disguising themselves as civilians and as medical personnel, the Israeli forces involved in the operation appear to have resorted to perfidy in violation of the applicable rules." [412] Tom Dannenbaum, a professor of international law, stated, "Someone who is paralyzed is incapacitated in that respect, so an attack on that individual would be prohibited. Violating that prohibition would be a war crime." [413] The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the shootings a crime against humanity. [414] The Independent Commission for Human Rights called the attack "an assault on an institution protected by international law". [415] OHCHR stated it was a "seemingly planned extrajudicial execution." [416]
The IDF initially said the raid had been a "joint IDF, ISA, and Israel Police counterterrorism activity", and later said that none of their soldiers were physically present during the raid. [417] A panel of human rights experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council stated the raid could constitute a war crime and recommended an investigation. [418]
On 17 January 2024, Israeli soldiers were recorded using a Palestinian shop-owner in Dura, Hebron, West Bank, as a human shield. [419] [420] In an interview with Reuters, the shop-owner stated, "He (the first soldier) told me that he will use me as a human shield, that young people shouldn't hurl stones." [421] On 9 February, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated that an ambulance crew in Beita, Nablus, West Bank had been detained by Israeli forces and used as human shields. [422] A 21-year-old man from Gaza City stated to Al Jazeera that he had been used as a human shield by Israeli forces. [423]
Video evidence surfaced of what was described as a "flagrant violation of international laws related to the protection of civilians" by Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. Israeli soldiers were shown surrounding detainees in Yatta, Hebron who were being dragged and assaulted by the Israeli soldiers. Many of the detainees had been stripped naked, having both their arms and feet bound, and beaten with the butts of rifles and trampled. [424] Video evidence depicting degradation towards detainees shows Israeli soldiers transporting Palestinians from Ofer prison, all of whom are blindfolded and stripped completely naked. [425] In another video uploaded by an Israeli soldier, a blindfolded and bound Palestinian is shown kneeling on the ground. The soldier taunts him in Arabic, telling him "ŲµŲØŲ§Ų Ų§ŁŲ®ŁŲ± ŁŲ§ ŁŲŲØŲ©" (Good morning, whore) before repeatedly kicking and spitting on him. [426] On 11 December, Human Rights Watch director, Omar Shakir, stated the blindfolding and stripping of Palestinian detainees represented a war crime. [427] [428]
On 20 December, Amnesty International called for an investigation into mass detentions, disappearances, inhumane treatment, and detainee deaths. [429] In February 2024, the BBC published a report detailing documented instances of Israeli soldiers abusing and humiliating Palestinian detainees, which Mark Ellis, an expert on international criminal tribunals, said showed possible violations of laws regarding prisoners of war. [430] After the IDF dismissed one of the reservists shown in the video, Sir Geoffrey Nice, an expert on war crimes, stated a wider investigation was needed beyond the dismissal. [431] In March 2024, the United Nations stated that Israel had detained and tortured its employees in Gaza, extracting forced confessions. [432] [433] A Bellingcat analysis found instances of a collection of images and videos showing the IDF degrading Palestinian detainees, which Queenās University Belfast war crimes professor Luke Moffett stated showed potential war crimes. [434]
On 19 February 2024, a group of United Nations special rapporteurs released a report stating, "Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers. At least two female Palestinian detainees were reportedly raped". [435] In response to the report, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State said, "Civilians and detainees must be treated humanely, and in accordance with international humanitarian law." [436] Physicians for Human Rights-Israel also described the sexual humiliation of detainees, including sexual insults and urination on prisoners. [437] The Palestinian Prisoner's Society stated men had been subjected to severe sexual assault, including attempted rape and violating strip searches. [438] A story originally reported by Al Jazeera of alleged rape of Palestinian women by IDF soldiers at Al-Shifa Hospital was later retracted as a fabrication. [439]
Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, criticized the underreporting of sexual violence against Palestinians, stating, "Rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide! It must stop!" [440]
States transferring weapons to Israel faced charges of violations of international law. In February 2024, a group of more than a dozen United Nations special rapporteurs stated that any export of weapons or munitions to Israel was "likely to violate international humanitarian law." [441] The UN experts stated that parties signed to the Arms Trade Treaty have additional obligations to deny arms exports if the weapons could be used for serious violations of international humanitarian law. [442] The group called for an arms embargo. [443] In a statement, Human Rights Watch stated that the United Kingdom's refusal to suspend arms transfer to Israel put it "at risk of failing to prevent and being complicit in serious violations of international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity". [444] In March 2024, Nicaragua filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice against Germany, stating that its financial and military support to Israel was facilitating genocide in Gaza. [445]
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly was sued by the Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights group for authorizing the export of weapons used by Israel to violate international law. [446] Soon after, Joly stated the Canadian government was no longer issuing new weapons export licenses to the Israeli military. [447] The Government of Denmark was sued by Oxfam, Amnesty International, Action Aid, and Al-Haq for their arms transfers to Israel, with the organizations stating, "Denmark violates international rules on arms trade and risks becoming complicit in violations of international humanitarian law ā including war crimes ā and a plausible genocide." [448] In March 2024, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam stated that Israel was committing violations of international humanitarian law with weapons provided by the United States. [449]
After the UK Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell stated Israeli compliance with international humanitarian law was under review, the UK shadow foreign secretary David Lammy stated arms export licenses should be denied if "there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law". [450] 600 UK lawyers, including three former justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, stated the UK's arming of Israel was a breach of international law. [451] Following reports the UK Foreign Office found Israel had violated international humanitarian law, Geoffrey Nice stated, "Countries supplying arms to Israel may now be complicit in criminal warfare." [452]
Numerous heads of state criticized Israel's war crimes. Turkish president Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan criticized Western countries for their complicity as Israel committed war crimes. [453] Colombian President Gustavo Petro termed Israel's campaign as a genocide. [454] Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and King Abdullah II of Jordan both condemned the collective punishment of Gaza. [455] Irish President Michael D. Higgins demanded the al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion be investigated as a war crime. [g] [459] Chilean President Gabriel Boric condemned Israel's "collective punishment" the Gazan civilian population [460] [461] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the collective punishment of Gaza. [462] Brazilian President Luiz InĆ”cio Lula da Silva stated, "It's not a war, it's a genocide." [463]
Belgian deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter called for sanctions against Israel and an EU ban on countries responsible for war crimes. [464] On 10 November, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr StĆøre stated Israel's actions violated international laws of war. [465] Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the Israeli actions in Gaza as "indiscriminate killing" and stated he had "serious doubts" Israel was following international law. [466] [467] Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called Israel actions in Gaza a genocide. [468] Irish PM Leo Varadkar stated Israel was committing collective punishment. [469] Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani called for an international investigation into Israeli war crimes. [470] [471] On 12 December, Joe Biden described Israel's attacks as "indiscriminate". [472]
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated Israel was collectively punishing Gaza. [473] Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi described Israeli actions in Gaza as crimes against humanity. [474] Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister of the Maldives, warned the evacuation of northern Gaza could amount to the "war crime of forcible transfer". [475] Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian described the events as genocide and a crime against humanity. [476] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized Israel's "indiscriminate" force and "flagrant" violations of international humanitarian law, stating the conflict risked creating a crisis that would last "many decades, if not centuries". [477] [478]
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad termed Israeli actions as a genocide. [479] In a joint statement, the Foreign Ministers of nine Arab countries ā the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Morocco ā described Israeli actions as collective punishment. [480] Oman's Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, called for a war crimes investigation into Israeli action in Gaza. [481] Qatari foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, stated Israel's Al-Shifa Hospital siege was a "war crime and a blatant violation of international laws". [482] Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian foreign minister, stated Israel's actions fit within the legal definition of genocide. [483] The Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated Israel was engaged in collective punishment through its sieges, indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and starvation. [484]
On 9 January 2024, David Cameron, the British foreign secretary, stated he was "worried" Israel had breached international law in Gaza. [485] On 14 January 2024, Cameron said that "Israel is acting in self-defence" and denied that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. [486] On 14 February, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani described Israel's attack on Gaza as disproportionate. [487] Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State, described Israel's response as disproportionate. [488] Quoting Giora Eiland, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell stated Israel's objective appeared to be to "turn Gaza into a place that is temporarily or permanently impossible to live in". [489] MicheƔl Martin, the Irish foreign minister, stated the 7 October attacks and Israel's actions in Gaza both "represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale". [490]
Ione Belarra, the Spanish minister of social rights, accused the EU and the US of "being complicit in Israel's war crimes." [491] Belarra further called for Israel to be denounced before the International Criminal Court for genocide in the Gaza Strip. [492] The Workers Party of Brazilian president Luiz InƔcio Lula da Silva officially classified Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide. [493] The Parliament of Sri Lanka sent a letter to the UN secretary general, stating, Israel's "indiscriminate bombings in hospitals, amounts to a war crime under international law and the Geneva Convention." [494] U.S. officials reported alarm at Israeli claims of the "inevitability" of civilian deaths, after they used the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as historical examples. [495] On 20 December, HuffPost reported US officials were urging Switzerland against a Geneva Convention conference. [496]
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen accused Israel of committing "textbook war crimes". [497] French Senator Guillaume Gontard stated that the Israeli prime minister was "using hunger as a weapon" in Gaza. [498] Australian Senator Mehreen Faruqi stated, "Israel is committing war crime after war crime in broad daylight and is getting away with it." [499]
Vanessa Frazier, the Maltese ambassador to the UN, stated Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid "may amount to a crime against humanity and a war crime". [500] Qatari diplomat Sheikha Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani stated the Al-Shifa Hospital siege was a war crime. [501] Nicolas de RiviĆØre, the French ambassador to the United Nations, called for an immediate ceasefire, stating, "It has to stop. Whatās happening right now is totally contrary to the Geneva Conventions." [502]
On 6 December, Oxfam stated the international community, and in particular, Israel's allies, were "complicit in the mass death, forcible displacement, starvation and deprivation being inflicted upon more than 2 million people." [503] The International Federation for Human Rights stated Israel's actions in Gaza constituted an unfolding genocide and called for the arrest of Israeli government officials. [504] A group of 31 Palestinian human rights organizations, led by Al-Haq, wrote to UN chief AntĆ³nio Guterres stating UN aid agencies were in breach of international law by aiding Israel's war objectives. [505] The Norwegian Refugee Council stated any push of Gazans into Egypt would be a war crime or crime against humanity. [506] The Non-Aligned Movement, a body of 120 countries, issued a statement calling Israel's war on Gaza "illegal". [507]
In February 2024, Amnesty International warned that states arming Israel risked violating international law, stating, "By providing arms to Israel, EU states and the US are violating their responsibility to prevent genocide and contributing to war crimes and crimes against humanity." [508] Agnes Callamard, the head of Amnesty, wrote for Foreign Affairs, stating international law was in its "death throes" due to the "culmination of years of erosion of the international rule of law and global human rights system". [509] The Israel-Palestine director for Human Rights Watch stated that years of no accountability for Israel had led to "this flagrant disregard for the most basic principles" of international law. [510] In March 2024, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights stated that Europe and the U.S. were allowing Israel to commit crimes "with the absence of mechanisms that would compel it to abide by the rules of international humanitarian law". [511] Physicians for Human RightsāIsrael stated it was preparing to take the Israeli military to court for its "indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza, stating Israel was failing to fulfill its "obligation according to international humanitarian law". [512]
A group of independent United Nations experts stated that the Israel Defense Forces engaged in "indiscriminate military attacks". [513] Paula Gaviria Betancur, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, stated Israel's forced evacuation orders constituted a crime against humanity. [514] In March 2024, Betancur stated the world "must abandon the fiction that Israel will respect the principles of international humanitarian and human rights law in its military operations". [515] Balakrishnan Rajagopal , the UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, stated Israel's destruction of housing and civilian infrastructure amounted to a war crime and crime against humanity. [516] [h] UN Human Rights chief Volker TĆ¼rk stated Israel's collective punishment and forcible evacuation of Gazans were both war crimes. [518]
A group of UN experts warned of "a genocide in the making" in Gaza. [519] Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN special rapporteur on water and sanitation, stated that under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, cutting off basic supplies, such as water, was a crime against humanity. [520] Martin Griffiths stated the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was intolerable and that "international humanitarian law appears to have been turned on its head". [521] Philippe Lazzarini called Israel's killing of United Nations workers a "blatant disregard of international humanitarian law". [522] The United Nations special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions and torture signed a joint statement urging a war crimes investigation. [523] The OHCHR stated it had "serious concerns" about Israel's compliance with international law. [524] Tlaleng Mofokeng, the special rapporteur on health, stated Israel had violated special medical protections in an "unrelenting war" on health. [525] Speaking about Israel's planned Rafah offensive, the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres stated, "International humanitarian law lies in tatters". [526] A week later, Guterres condemned Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid, stating, "Nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people". [527]
The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office opened an investigation into Israeli violations of international humanitarian law. [528] Court documents cited by Amnesty International indicated the UK office was unable to determine if Israel was in compliance with international law, but concluded there were "serious concerns" about legal breaches. [529] In February 2024, the U.S. State Department announced it was investigating the 31 October 2023 Jabalia refugee camp airstrike and Israel's possible use of white phosphorus in Lebanon. [530] Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, stated she was investigating torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees by the Israeli army. [531]
Following the release of footage showing airstrikes killing five Palestinian men walking along a dirt road in Gaza, the IDF announced the incident was being investigated by its "fact finding" body for potential crimes by its forces. [532] A US State Department official said, "Israel has an obligation to investigate credible allegations of law of war violations". [533] In April 2024, the U.S. Secretary of State denied it had "double-standards" regarding Israel, stating the U.S. was "looking at" alleged violations of international humanitarian law. [534]
On 9 November, three Palestinian civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Israel with the International Criminal Court. [535] The groups charged Israel with war crimes, apartheid, and genocide, calling for the ICC to issue arrest warrants for top Israeli officials. [536] On 10 November, President Gustavo Petro announced Colombia was cosponsoring an Algerian ICC suit charging Israel with war crimes. [537] On 14 November, Human Rights Watch called on the ICC to investigate Israeli attacks on hospitals and ambulances. [538] A group of lawyers representing victims of Israeli attacks filed a suit in the ICC, charging Israel with genocide. [539] South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor called on the ICC to speed up its investigation of Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, and stated warrants of arrest should be issued for Benjamin Netanyahu. [540] On 16 November, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa stated South Africa had referred Israel to the ICC for war crimes. [541] On 17 November, Karim Ahmad Khan stated the ICC had received a joint request by South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti to investigate alleged Israeli war crimes. [542] On 28 November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated Israeli officials should stand trial in international courts for war crimes. [543] On 20 December, Democracy for the Arab World Now provided the ICC prosecutor with a list of 40 Israeli commanding officers to be charged with war crimes. [544]
On 22 December, Reporters Without Borders filed an ICC complaint against Israel for "probable war crimes". [545] On 6 January, a group of 100 Chilean lawyers filed a complaint at the ICC accusing Netanyahu of committing war crimes. [546] On 18 January, the foreign ministries of Mexico and Chile referred Israel to the ICC for potential war crimes. [547] [548] [i]
South Africa has instituted proceedings at the International Court of Justice pursuant to the Genocide Convention, to which both Israel and South Africa are signatories, accusing Israel of committing genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza. [549] [550] [551] South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa compared Israel's actions to apartheid. [552] South Africa's application was brought pursuant to Article IX of the convention. [550] Several human rights organizations, international organisations, and other nations [j] [k] have supported South Africa in their suit. [606] [607] [608]
In an 84-page application filed on 29 December 2023, South Africa alleged that Israel's actions "are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group." [550] [609] South Africa requested that the ICJ issue a binding legal order on an interim basis (i.e., prior to a hearing on the merits of the application), requiring Israel to "immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza." [550] [609] While adjudication of the merits of the case may take years, such an order could be issued within weeks. [551] The South African ambassador to the Netherlands, in a statement to the ICJ during the proceedings, argued how the 2023 assault on Gaza is not an individual event but the escalation of "Israelās twenty-five-year apartheid, fifty-six-year occupation, and sixteen-year siege imposed on the Gaza strip." [610]
Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, notes that the ICJ case is not a prosecution of individuals, and does not involve the International Criminal Court, which is a separate body. [551] Jarrah stated that the case presents an opportunity to "provide clear, definitive answers on the question of whether Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people." [551]
On 6 March 2024 South Africa asked the ICJ to order additional measures against Israel, due to Gazans facing mass starvation. [611]On 13 November 2023, the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) sued Joe Biden for allegedly failing in his duties, defined under national and international laws, to prevent Israel committing genocide in Gaza. [612] The complaint, filed on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza and the US, alleged that Israel's "mass killings", targeting of civilian infrastructure and forced expulsions amounted to genocide. [612] [613] The CCR said that the US and other countries had a duty to do all they could to stop the killing. "As Israel's closest ally and strongest supporter, being its biggest provider of military assistance by a large margin and with Israel being the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance since World War II, the United States has the means available to have a deterrent effect on Israeli officials now pursuing genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza," the complaint argued. [612]
The suit, filed in federal court in California, asked the court to bar the US from providing weapons, money and diplomatic support to Israel. [612] It also sought a declaration that the president, the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, were required "to take all measures within their power to prevent Israel's commission of genocidal acts against the Palestinian people of Gaza." Genocide scholar William Schabas said in a declaration in the lawsuit that in his view there was a "serious risk of genocide" and that the US was "in breach of its obligation" under the 1948 Genocide Convention and international law. [613] [614]
On 31 January 2024, the case was dismissed. The judge said that the US Constitution limited his actions, that he would have preferred to have issued the injunction and urged President Biden to rethink U.S. policy, writing "it is plausible that Israel's conduct amounts to genocide." [615]
Hague lawsuit
On 4 December 2023, Human rights organisations Oxfam Novib, PAX Nederland, and The Rights Forum had taken the Dutch State to court to stop the export of parts for F-35 fighter jets arguing that they contribute to violations of international law in Gaza. Oxfam argued that the export "made the Netherlands complicit in violations of the laws of war and the collective punishment of the civilian population of Gaza". [616] On 15 December 2023, The Hague ruled that the state could keep exporting arms to Israel. [617] On 12 February 2024, the court of appeal in The Hague ruled that "There is a clear risk that Israel's F-35 fighter jets might be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law." The judges wrote, "Israel does not take sufficient account of the consequences of its attacks for the civilian population. Israel's attacks on Gaza have resulted in a disproportionate number of civilian casualties, including thousands of children" and that, " The Netherlands is a party to several international regulations which stipulate that if a clear risk of serious violations of international humanitarian law exists, the Netherlands has the obligation to prevent the export of military equipment." The court ordered that deliveries must stop within seven days. [618]
On 6 December 2023, Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq and UK-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) have commenced legal proceedings against the UK after written requests to suspend arms sales to Israel, citing alleged breaches of international law and UK rules, were repeatedly ignored. The filed papers detail allegations of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, starvation, forced displacement, and the serious risk of genocide, including statements from members of the Knesset and military leaders. The action is supported by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and a press briefing was held with GLAN, Al-Haq and ICJP and with Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and a member from Oxfam. [619] [620]
On 5 December 2023, Palestinian human rights groups, Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) have launched legal action in the Federal Court of Australia. The human rights groups seek access to all permits allowing the export of arms and weapons to Israel that have been granted by the Minister for Defence since 7 October 2023. The application is supported by the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ). [621] [622]
On 5 March 2023, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLIHR), Al-Haq and a group of Palestinian-Canadians, have sued the Global Affairs Ministry for exporting military goods and technology to Israel during the Gaza conflict. They argue that the exports could be used in alleged human rights violations against Palestinians. The legal action accuses Canada's Foreign Minister MĆ©lanie Joly of authorising the export of military goods and technology to Israel, amounting to at least at least C$28.5m ($21m), that could be used to commit violations of international law. [623]
In the West, Hamas has long been considered to harbor aspirations of genocide against Israel and its Jewish population, as an interpretation of their 1988 charter referenced a hadith (saying attributed to Muhammad) that in the End Times, Jews will follow the false Messiah, after which Muslims will kill and be victorious over Jews. [624] [625] [626] [627] [628] Legal and genocide experts condemned the attack as a severe violation of international law, asserting that Hamas executed these acts with the intent to destroy the Israeli national group. [629] [630] [631] [632] Over 100 international scholars describing the actions as likely meeting the definition of genocide, saying "As these widespread, horrendous acts appear to have been carried out with an 'intent to destroy, in whole or in part' a national group ā Israelis ā a goal explicitly declared by Hamas, they most probably constitute an international crime of genocide, proscribed by the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court". [633]
Other groups, including Genocide Watch, have supported these allegations, saying "Hamas targeted Israelis simply because they were Israelis. It was the deadliest recorded massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have expressed their genocidal intent to destroy the nation of Israel. The massacres by Hamas constituted acts of genocide." [634]
Some commentators have pointed toward Hamas' founding charter, which contains anti-Semitic language, advocates for the destruction of Israel, and, according to some of the researchers, implies a call for the genocide of Jews. This has led to suggestions that the October 7 attacks were an effort to fulfill this agenda. [635] [636] [637] [638]
On 17 October, 10 days after the start of the war, 880 scholars of international law and genocide signed a public statement saying: "As scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies, and genocide studies, we are compelled to sound the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip." [639] The statement called on UN bodies, including the UN Office on Genocide Prevention, as well as the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to "immediately intervene, to carry out the necessary investigations, and invoke the necessary warning procedures to protect the Palestinian population from genocide". [639]
On 19 October 2023, amid the 2023 HamasāIsrael war, 100 civil society organizations and six genocide scholars sent a letter to Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, calling on him to issue arrest warrants to Israeli officials for cases already before the prosecutor; to investigate the new crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, including incitement to genocide, since 7 October; to issue a preventive statement against war crimes; and to remind all states of their obligations under international law. [640] The letter noted that Israeli officials, in their statements, had indicated "clear intent to commit war crimes, crimes against humanity and incitement to commit genocide, using dehumanizing language to describe Palestinians". The six specialist genocide scholars that signed the document were Raz Segal, Barry Trachtenberg, Robert McNeil, Damien Short, Taner AkƧam and Victoria Sanford. [640] The same day, lawyers at the Center for Constitutional Rights stated that Israel's tactics were "calculated to destroy the Palestinian population in Gaza", and warned the Biden administration that āU.S. officials can be held responsible for their failure to prevent Israelās unfolding genocide, as well as for their complicity, by encouraging it and materially supporting it." [641] On 13 December, FIDH, the world's third-oldest human rights organization, stated Israel's actions in Gaza constituted an unfolding genocide. [642]
On 28 October Craig Mokhiber stepped down as the director of the New York office of the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights over the organization's response to the war in Gaza. In his resignation letter, he described Israel's military conduct, and broader actions toward Palestinians, as "a textbook case of genocide". [643] [644] [645]
In response to Israel destroying Gaza's universities, Muhannad Ayyash, a professor of sociology at Mount Royal University, charged Israel with epistemicide. [646] [647] Ayyash stated Israel sought to "erase Palestinian existence from history, and that includes a targeting of Palestinians as a cultural group, as a group of people that produce knowledge". [646] Steven Thrasher, an American academic, wrote that Israel was also destroying the "possibility of building new knowledge and political realities". [648] On 6 December 2023, Israel destroyed the municipal archives of Gaza City, leading Birzeit University to state Israel was "deliberately razing all forms of life." [649] Israel bombed more than 200 of Gaza's most important cultural heritage sites, [650] including the Church of Saint Porphyrius and the Great Omari Mosque. [651] [652] French historian Jean-Pierre Filiu stated Israel was destroying a 4,000 year-old culture in Gaza, stating, "the memory of humanity is being erased before our eyes". [653]
Israel was further accused of scholasticide, or "intentional destruction of cultural heritage". [654] Birzeit University condemned Israel in January 2024, after the IDF bombed Israa University, stating Israel had stolen 3,000 rare artifacts and calling it "a continuation of the genocide being carried out in Gaza Strip." [655] [l] The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education called the bombing a "clear violation of all international laws". [657] The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the artifact theft part of Israel's "ongoing genocide" and a "war crime of cultural theft". [658] On 25 February 2024, the director of literature in the Palestinian Ministry of Culture accused Israel of committing cultural genocide in Gaza, stating it was "destroying cultural life and creativity" and thus "erasing Palestinian identity". [659]
Israel was also charged with committing ecocide. [660] The Environment Quality Authority stated Israel had destroyed "all components of biological diversity, including plants and microorganisms." [661] The Century Foundation stated Gaza's "environmental resources are being poisoned, depleted, or otherwise destroyed, and may take generations to recover." [662] An analysis by The Guardian found that 38-48% of tree cover and farmland had been destroyed since 7 October. [663]
On 29 December 2023, South Africa filed the case South Africa v. Israel (Genocide Convention) against Israel at the International Court of Justice, alleging that Israel "is committing genocide in manifest violation of the Genocide Convention". [664] [665] [666] South Africa asked the ICJ to issue provisional measures, including ordering Israel to halt its military campaign in Gaza. [665]
In February 2024, Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, accused Israel of genocide, war crimes, and using starvation as a weapon. He stated, "Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian. In my view as a UN human rights expert, this is now a situation of genocide. This means the state of Israel in its entirety is culpable and should be held accountable ā not just individuals or this government or that person." [667]
On 26 March, 2024, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council that found Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. [668] [669] [670] In her statement presenting the report, she said "there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide against Palestinians as a group in Gaza has been met. Specifically, Israel has committed three acts of genocide with the requisite intent: causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent birth within the group." [669]Security footage shows the two gunmen ambushing a Mazda and firing multiple shots into the vehicle. The bullet-ridden car rolls forward, the gate opens, and the men enter the kibbutz.
{{
cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
{{
cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
Collective punishment was outlawed in 1949 by the Geneva Convention.
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
{{
cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)Slovenia supports the proceedings regarding the violation of the Genocide Convention, both in the case of Ukraine and Palestine.
Fajon hopes the court will call on Israel at an early stage of procedure to end the military operation because it could take several years for a final decision to be reached on the genocide accusation.
Hadif is a statement of Prophet Mohammed. This is a book that start for ninth graders. This is talking about the victory of Muslims over Jews. This is a hadif that I truly believe it's not true, as a Muslim: "The day of judgment will not arrive until Muslims fight Jews, and Muslim will kill Jews until the Jew hides behind a tree or a stone. Then the tree and the stone will say, 'Oh Muslim, oh, servant of God, this is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him.' Except one type of a tree, which is a Jew tree. That will not say that."
The governing charter of Hamas, "The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement," openly dedicates Hamas to genocide against the Jewish people.
The Hamas Charter not only calls for the militant, perhaps genocidal, liberation of Palestine (e.g., "raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine"), but also demonstrates anti-Semitic, murderous intent.
For Jews, the Holocaust remains a real concern in an age when Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization, continues to advocate genocide in its core Charter.
Since the start of the IsraelāHamas war on 7 October 2023, the UN Human Rights Council has identified "clear evidence" of war crimes by both Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces. [1] A UN Commission to the IsraelāPalestine conflict stated that there is "clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed in the latest explosion of violence in Israel and Gaza, and all those who have violated international law and targeted civilians must be held accountable." [2] [3] [4] On 27 October, a spokesperson for the OHCHR called for an independent court to review potential war crimes committed by both sides. [5]
The International Criminal Court confirmed that its mandate to investigate alleged war crimes committed since June 2014 in the State of Palestine extends to the current conflict. [6] [1] [7]
Determining the applicability of laws of war to militant groups is a difficult question, as both the Council of Europe and International Committee of the Red Cross note that international law treats war and terrorism as separate legal categories. [9] [10] The Israeli, American, EU, UK, Japanese, and Canadian governments define Hamas as a terrorist group. However, some disagree with this characterization and claim Hamas are not terrorists. [11] While the term "international law" pertains to states, it also applies to insurgent and terrorist armed forces. Even if an insurgency is deemed lawful ā meaning it meets the criteria of "just cause", it must adhere to the principles of "just means". Regarding Hamas and its combatants, even if they have a presumptive right to fight against what they term as an " Israeli occupation," they must still abide by legal rules of "discrimination", "proportionality", and "military necessity". [12]
On 9 October 2023 Human Rights Watch stated that Hamas's apparent targeting of civilians, indiscriminate attacks, and taking of hostages amounted to war crimes. [13]
On 10 October 2023 the OHCHR stated the taking of hostages and use of human shields were war crimes. [14] United Nations Human Rights chief Volker TĆ¼rk noted that militant groups' "horrifying mass killings" were violations of international law. [15]
On 12 October, Jens David Ohlin argued Hamas's attacks potentially violated Articles 6-8 of the Rome Statute. [16] Ohlin asserted the attacks might violate Article 6, if it could be proved the perpetrators had "genocidal intent". [16] On 7 October, as his forces were massacring civilians, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, stated in a speech the intent of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, saying, "We want to liberate our land, our holy sites, our Al-Aqsa mosque, our prisoners." He concluded with the statement "To [the enemy], we have only one thing to say to you: get out of our land. Get out of our sight. Get out of our city of Al-Quds [Jerusalem] and our al-Aqsa mosque. We no longer wish to see you on this land. This land is ours, Al-Quds is ours, everything [here] is ours. You are strangers in this pure and blessed land. There is no place of safety for you." [17]
According to Ohlin, militant groups violated Article 7 if there was evidence the attacks had been part of an organized "plan or policy". [16] Finally, Ohlin argued, the militant groups violated Article 8 by killing civilians. [16] On 7 October, the militant groups massacred civilians. [18] 260 were killed at the Re'im music festival, 112 at Be'eri, and 73 at Kfar Aza. [19] Victims were reportedly subject to immolation, dismemberment, and beheading. [20] On 15 October, a group of 100 Israeli and international law experts argued videos released on social media showed war crimes. [21] In early December 2023, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan visited Israel in response to a request from a group representing families of victims of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. He said that the attacks against Israeli civilians on October 7 constituted some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanityācrimes that the ICC was established to address. Khan emphasized the crimes were not random murders," and noted that Hamas "hunted down people" and that "children were kidnapped from their cots". He added that his office is willing to cooperate with Israel in investigating the events of October 7. [22] [23]
At the Re'im music festival massacre, Hamas militants massacred 270 civilians, methodically shooting fleeing and hiding attendees, as well as taking hostages, in the largest terror attack against a concert in history. Witnesses reported that some of the women were raped. [24] [25] [26] [27]
At the Be'eri massacre, approximately 70 Hamas militants massacred at least 130 people, approximately 10% of the population of Be'eri, including women, children, and infants. [28] When inside the kibbutz they went house to house, shooting or capturing the residents. [29] [30]
Hostage-taking is outlawed in non-international armed conflicts as per Article 1(b) of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and customary international humanitarian law, and is recognized as a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Hostage-taking is defined as detaining a person with threats to harm them to compel a third party to act or abstain from acting as a condition for the hostage's safety. Hostages can be civilians or individuals not actively partaking in hostilities, including surrendered or detained armed forces members. [31]
During the Hamas attack approximately 200 people were taken hostage by militants. [32] Hostages included women, children, elderly and even babies. [33] [34] [35] Under the Geneva Convention, taking hostages is described as a "grave breach". [36] [37] In response to Israeli airstrikes on civilian residences, Hamas threatened on 13 October to execute a hostage every time Israel bombed a home without giving advance warning. [38] Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch, asserted hostage-taking was a "heinous crime" with no justification. [39] Amnesty International noted the militant groups' actions ā including hostage-taking ā "flagrantly violated international law". [40]
The Israel Defense Forces allege that Hamas uses civilians as human shields. [41] [42] This allegation has received support from the UK, the US, Australia, and European Commission. [43] Al Jazeera notes, "Israel has, however, not provided concrete proof for its allegations." [44] The Israeli army further argued the militant groups' hostages were being used as human shields. [37] Human Rights Watch noted that using hostages, or any other person held in custody, as human shields is illegal. [31] On the counter side, Israeli Defense Forces have been accused of making no, or an inadequate distinction between Hamas forces and civilians. [45] [46]
All combatants, including insurgents, are bound by the law of war. Louis RenƩ Beres has analyzed the placing of military assets amid Palestinian civilian populations, in previous anti-terror wars against Hamas, categorizing this as a clear and punishable crime under international law. The act of perfidy is described as a "grave breach" in Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Placing military assets or personnel in civilian populated areas is forbidden by the Hague Regulations. Additionally, Protocol I of 1977, supplementing the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, contains related prohibitions on perfidy. These regulations are enforced not only through the mentioned treaties but also via customary international law, as indicated by Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. A, as underlined in Article 3, shared across the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. [12] Janina Dill, a laws of war professor at University of Oxford, stated, "Even if Hamas uses civilians as human shields, those civilians are entitled to full protection under international law unless they directly participate in the fighting". [47]
Hamas militants disguise themselves as civilians and hide weapons in schools, mosques and hospitals, which are violations of international law. [48] The Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions article 37, require distinguishing combatants from civilians, and providing for medical treatment of the wounded by designated units. [49] [50] [51] [52][ excessive citations]
During wartime, medical facilities are considered protected objects, and the use of them for military purposes is a war crime. Hamas has been condemned by the EU for using "hospitals and civilians as human shields". [53] Israel alleges it operates a major command and control center beneath Al-Shiba hospital. According to Amer Abu Awash, a member of Hamas' elite Nukhba Force, much of Hamas' underground infrastructure is beneath hospitals, placed there so that Israel "won't strike them". [54] [55] Abu Awash made this claim while handcuffed and undergoing IDF interrogation. [55]
Israel's claims have been refuted by medical staff and by international bodies. [56] Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a resident doctor at al-Shifa, called Israel's assertion of Hamas using the hospital an "outlandish excuse" to bomb it. [57] In response to the IDF allegations, Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, who has worked both at al-Shifa and al-Quds, stated Israel had a well-documented history of attacking civilian healthcare facilities without ever providing real evidence they were used in military capacities. [58] [59] [60] On 13 November, Israeli academic Neve Gordon stated Israel was "abusing laws of war" to justify its attacks on hospitals. [61]
On November 5, during the invasion of Gaza, the IDF released videos claiming Hamas fighters fired from the Sheikh Hamad Hospital. In response, Qatari official Mohammed El Emadi condemned Israel's claim, stating it was made "without concrete evidence or an independent investigation" and was a "blatant attempt to justify the occupation's targeting of civilian facilities." [62] The IDF video also showed an entrance to an underground complex, which according to the IDF led to the Hamas tunnel network. [63] An Al-Jazeera investigation found that the claimed "tunnel entrance" was instead a hatch for the hospital's water reservoir, which has existed since the hospital's construction. [64] In response to Israel's allegations, Hamas requested the United Nations to form an international committee to inspect hospitals and verify Israel's "false claims" that it uses them to fire rockets. [65]
On November 14, CNN visited what Israel described as a Hamas commander's house, situated between a school and a hospital, and saw a tunnel beneath it that Israel said led in one direction to the school, and in the other direction to the hospital. Visiting the hospital, Israel showed weapons that they said they found in an armory there, as well as unconfirmed indications that hostages may have been held there. [66] According to The New York Times, the origins of the weapons shown in the video could not be independently verified. [67] Charles Lister, Director of the Counterterrorism and Extremism Program at the Middle East Institute, stated the IDF footage clearly indicated that the basement was a bomb shelter. [68] Mohammed Zaqout, a Gaza Health Ministry official responsible for Gaza's hospitals, stated the basement was a shelter for women and children. [69]
In December 2023, The Washington Post analyzed the publicly released material by Israel, along with satellite imagery and other publicly available material, and concluded the rooms connected to a tunnel network did not show any evidence of being used by Hamas, and that each of the buildings IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari had identified as being "directly involved" in Hamas's military activity did not appear to be connected to any tunnel network. The Post stated there was no evidence released that showed a tunnel network could be accessed from the hospital wards. [70]
In February 2024, The New York Times analyzed the evidence, concluding that the tunnel likely connected to the broader tunnel network and that it could be accessed from buildings within the hospital complex, although not the individual wards. [71]
The 7 October attack included at least 3,000 rockets aimed toward Israel, with over 8000 being fired since the war began. [73] [74] The rockets hit as far away as Tel Aviv and the outskirts of Jerusalem. [75] Human Rights Watch termed the rocket attacks as indiscriminate. [13] [76] These have included repeated direct strikes on medical facilities, such as the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, including pediatric facilities at the Child Development Institute. [77] Human right organizations and scholars have condemned indiscriminate rocket attacks as a war crime. [76] [78]
According to Israeli military forensic teams, eyewitness testimony, and reported photographic, documentary and video evidence, Hamas militants raped, assaulted, and mutilated Israeli women and girls during the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. [79] [80] Military personnel reported that the bodies of the victims of the October 7 attacks showed multiple signs of rape and "severe stages of abuse". Hamas was accused of gender-based violence, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. [81] [82] [83] Hamas has denied the allegations of abuse. [79] Shelly Harush, the police officer leading the Israeli investigation recounted to the Times on 2 December 2023 "It's clear now that sexual crimes were part of the planning and the purpose was to terrify and humiliate people". [84]
Some hostages who were held by Hamas were also reportedly sexually abused. [85] An American official claimed that Hamas refused to release more hostages, ending the ceasefire agreement, to hide further evidence of sexual violence. [86] In late March 2024, Amit Soussana, in an interview with the New York Times, became the first Israeli hostage to publicly say she was sexually abused while in captivity by Hamas. [87] [88]
On January 6, 2024 Israeli military accused Hamas of using child soldiers, including to deliver explosive devices and to scout the battlefield in order to "assess the damage" on battlefields. They added that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had for years run summer camps in the Gaza Strip where children underwent military training. [89] Previously Ynet had reported that "a senior Hamas militant" captured by Israel had testified during interrogation that Hamas used children to carry explosives. [90] [91] The use and recruitment of children under 15 as soldiers is a war crime. [91]
As part of their participation in the IsraelāHamas war the Houthi militant group that rules part of Yemen has launched attacks against four civilian ships, and captured the Galaxy Leader and detained its crew. According to Human Rights Watch, such attacks and the taking of hostages constitute war crimes "if carried out deliberately or recklessly". [92]
Numerous charges of war crimes have been levied against Israel for its actions against civilians. These charges have come from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B'tselem, and human rights groups and experts, including UN rapporteurs. [93] Antony Blinken indicated the Biden administration has a "high tolerance" for whatever happens in Gaza. [94] On 27 October, the White House stated it had no red lines for Israeli actions. [95] [96]
In the first week of the war, the IDF carried out 6,000 airstrikes across Gaza, killing over 3,300 civilians and injuring over 12,000. [97] [98] The strikes hit specifically protected locations, including hospitals, markets, refugee camps, mosques, educational facilities, and entire neighborhoods. [99] A group of UN special rapporteurs asserted that Israel's airstrikes are indiscriminate, stating that the airstrikes are "absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime". [100]
A +972 Magazine investigation found the IDF had expanded authorization for bombing non-military targets. [101] Research conducted by Dr. Yagil Levy at the Open University of Israel confirmed the +972 report, stating Israel was "deliberately targeting residential blocks to cause mass civilian casualties". [102]
During two airstrikes on 10 October and 22 October, the IDF used Joint Direct Attack Munitions in attacks described by Amnesty International as "either direct attacks on civilians" or "indiscriminate attacks". [103] [104] On 24 October, UN Secretary-General AntĆ³nio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, after stating Israel had committed "clear violations" of international humanitarian law. [105] On 13 November, Israel shelled the Gaza Reconstruction Committee, leading three Arab states to condemn the attack, with Jordan calling it "a heinous war crime to add to Israel's criminal record." [106] On 12 January 2024, the spokesperson for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights stated Israel's attacks were failing to account for distinction, proportionality and precautions, thus leaving Israeli exposed to liability for war crimes. [107]
Analyses by CNN, The New York Times, and Sky News all found that Israel had bombed areas it had previously told civilians to evacuate to. The Sky News investigation also concluded that Israel's evacuation orders had been "chaotic and contradictory", [108] NYT found that Israel had dropped 2,000-pound bombs in those areas, [109] while CNN stated it had verified at least three locations Israel bombed after telling civilians it was safe to go there. [110]
In February 2024, the IDF bombed and destroyed the Belgium government's Gaza development office. [111] In response, Belgium recalled the Israeli ambassador and condemned the "destruction of civilian infrastructure" as a violation of international law. [112] [a] On 6 February, the UN stated an Israeli assault on Rafah could lead to war crimes. [114]
On 22 March, Al Jazeera released a video retrieved from an Israeli drone showing four unarmed Palestinians in Khan Younis who were killed by Israeli air attacks. Two were killed instantly, and the others were killed while trying to stumble and crawl away. [115] Al-Jazeera reported that āit is clear from the pictures that these Palestinians were unarmed and posed no threat to anything or anyoneā. [116] This footage was described by the UN's special rapporteur Francesca Albanese as a part of the ācolossal amount of evidenceā of war crimes committed in Gaza by Israel. The IDF started the investigation of the footage and said that they had encountered militants in civilian clothes retrieving previously hidden weapons in that area. [117]
Amnesty International called Israel's indiscriminate attacks illegal and a violation of international law. Secretary General of Amnesty International AgnĆØs Callamard said the 16-year-old "illegal blockade has made Gaza the world's biggest open-air prison", and the international community must now act to avert it from becoming a giant cemetery. [118] Human Rights Watch reported that Israel has completely shut down communications and put lives at risk in Gaza by carrying out relentless airstrikes and damage to the main communications infrastructure, electricity cuts, fuel blockades, and deliberate shutdowns through technical measures. Deborah Brown, senior technology researcher at Human Rights Watch, said a deliberate shutdown, or restriction of Internet access, is a human rights violation and can be deadly during a crisis. A complete disruption of communications, such as that experienced in Gaza, can provide cover for crimes and impunity, while further undermining humanitarian efforts and putting lives at risk. [119]
According to Reuters, Israel laid siege to Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, and launched the most powerful bombing campaign in the 75-year-old history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, destroying entire neighbourhoods. Israeli ground forces then swept into Gaza with the stated aim of annihilating Hamas, which runs the enclave. [120] Following reports about Israel's use of automated systems for target selection, experts in international humanitarian law stated they were alarmed by accounts that the IDF was accepting "damage ratios as high as 20 civilians", even for lower-ranking militants. [121]
On 9 October, the IDF carried out a mass-casualty airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp market. [122] The attack resulted in the deaths of over sixty civilians and extensive damage to the market. [123] As a result of Israeli airstrikes in other areas, displaced individuals sought refuge in the camp, causing the market to be densely populated at the time of the strike. [124] An airstrike on 31 October 2023 that killed 106 civilians near the Nuseirat refugee camp was deemed an apparent war crime by Human Rights Watch. [125] On 1 November, following two airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp, the United Nations Human Rights Office stated, "We have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes." [126]
On the same day, the IDF carried out an airstrike on the densely populated Al-Shati refugee camp. [127] Palestinian media reported that this strike resulted in numerous civilian casualties and the destruction of four mosques, including the al-Gharbi mosque, Yassin mosque, and al-Sousi mosque, all of which were confirmed destroyed by satellite footage. [128] The airstrikes in the Al-Shati camp were described as a "massacre against an entire neighborhood" by the Ministry of Health. [129] [130]
On 24 December, 68 people were killed in an airstrike in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. According to Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum, the vast majority of victims were civilians. Azzoum also noted that the camp was one of the areas the IDF had previously told Gazans to evacuate to. Hamas called the attack a "massacre" and a "war crime". [131] Israel later determined that incorrect munitions were used in the attack and expressed regret that non-combatants were harmed. [132]
Under the Rome Statute, it is a war crime to intentionally attack places of worship in non-international conflict, as long as they are not "used by a party to a conflict for acts harmful to the enemy". [133] On 19 October, the Israeli Air Force damaged the Church of Saint Porphyrius in an attack which targeted a nearby command-and-control center, according to the IDF. [134] Hundreds of Christians and Muslims were sheltering in the church and the strike killed 16 people. [135] The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned it as "a war crime that cannot be ignored". [136] Following an investigation, Amnesty International stated the church strike was indiscriminate and should be investigated as a war crime. [137]
On 16 December, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem stated the Israeli army had killed two women sheltering at the Holy Family Parish, stating, "They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents." [138] Pope Francis described the Israeli attack on the church as terrorism. [139]
On 17 October, according to UNRWA, an Israeli airstrike hit a UNRWA school sheltering 4,000 refugees in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, killing six and injuring dozens. Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, called it "outrageous" and said that it showed "a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians". [140] [141] The UN accused Israel of lethally bombing three UN shelters on 2 November 2023. [142] On 27 December 2023, the UN stated Israel had killed 142 UN employees in Gaza thus far. [143] On 12 January 2024, the UN Secretary-General for Human Rights stated that at least 319 internally displaced persons were killed and 1,135 injured in UNRWA shelters. [144]
On 24 January 2024, the UN accused Israel of firing two tank shells into a refugee facility in Khan Younis, killing nine people and wounding 75. [145] [146] [147] Israel denied bombing the facility. [148] [b] Thomas White, a senior UN official in Gaza, called the attack part of "a consistent failure to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law". [150] The Palestinian Ministry of Education reported that 65 UN schools in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, which the Save the Children Israel-Palestine director called "beyond unconscionable". [151]
An independent United Nations expert said that Israel's widespread bombing of homes and civilian sites in Gaza and the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas are "war crimes". Israeli strikes have destroyed or damaged 45% of homes in the Palestinian territory, detailed Balakrishnan Rajagopal in a press release, saying this destruction had an "enormous cost in human lives". The UN Special Rapporteur stressed that the targeting of residential areas is strictly prohibited under international law. He stated that engaging in military actions with the knowledge that it will result in the deliberate destruction of civilian residences and infrastructure, leading to the uninhabitability of an entire city like Gaza City, constitutes a violation of international law. [152]
On November 5, an Israeli airstrike hit a car near Ainata, Lebanon, killing three children and their grandmother, and injuring their mother. The Israeli military admitted to striking the vehicle. [153] Human Rights Watch stated that their killings should be investigated as an apparent war crime. [154] Najib Mikati, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, called the attack a "heinous crime" and said that Lebanon would file a complaint to the U.N. Security Council. [153] Following an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry called it a "breach of international law and a serious violation of the Vienna agreements for diplomatic and consular relations". [155] The UN Human Rights Office said the attack "violated the prohibition on the use of armed force against another state". [156]
From 7 October to 17 December 2023, 135 United Nations relief workers were killed in the Gaza Strip, making it the deadliest conflict for UN workers in world history. [157] [158] By March 2024, at least 165 United Nations staff had been killed in Gaza since 7 October and more than 150 facilities attacked. [159]
Following the death of one of their aid workers ā the fifth American aid worker killed in Gaza ā the American Near East Refugee Aid released a statement: "We demand an independent investigation into his death, which threatens our teamās ability to function safely and deliver aid to civilians facing starvation". [160] In March 2024, Israel bombed a United Nations food distribution center, killing one UN staff member and wounding 22 others. [161] [c] It was one of the UN's last remaining distribution centers, leading UN humanitarian aid chief Martin Griffiths to state the UN's aid teams "must be protected". [163] [164]
A New York Times investigation showed six Western aid groups had humanitarian sites hit by Israeli strikes, even though the locations were shared with the IDF. [165] [166]
On 29 February 2024, more than 100 people seeking aid were killed in Gaza City during an incident that became known as the flour massacre. [167] Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra de Sutter stated the massacre was a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law". [168] Josep Borrell stated it was a serious violation of international humanitarian law. [169] The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the attack a crime against humanity. [170] The Omani Foreign Ministry called the attack a violation of international law. [171] Amnesty International announced it was launching an investigation. [172] The United Nations Human Rights Office also called for an investigation, stating it had "recorded at least 14 incidents involving shooting and shelling of people gathered to receive desperately needed supplies". [173]
On 1 April 2024, an Israeli drone fired three consecutive missiles at three cars belonging to the World Central Kitchen (WCK), killing seven aid workers who had been distributing food in the northern Gaza Strip. [174] According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the strikes brought the total number of aid workers killed since 7 October to 196 people. [175] The president of Refugees International called the killings "part of a clear pattern" and a war crime. [176] Doctors Without Borders stated the killings were an example of how "international humanitarian law is not respected". [177] The Polish Foreign Ministry stated, "Poland objects to the disregard for international humanitarian law". [178] The Cyprus Foreign Ministry stated, "[International humanitarian law] principles are absolute: humanitarian aid workers must always be respected and protected." [179] Ben Saul, a UN special rapporteur, stated, "It could well be a violation of international humanitarian law". [180] Jose Andres, the founder of World Central Kitchen, stated Israel needed "to stop this indiscriminate killing." [181]
OHCHR stated on 20 December it had received allegations of Israeli soldiers summarily killing at least eleven unarmed men in Rimal. [182] Al Jazeera reported that the number summarily executed was 15, killed during an apartment raid. The execution was witnessed by the families of the men. [183] Middlesex University professor William Schabas stated, "It's not really important to demonstrate that they're civilians. Summary executions even of fighters, even of combatants is a war crime." [184] Euro-Med Monitor told Al Jazeera they believe there is a pattern of "systematic" killing, that "In at least 13 of field executions, we corroborated that it was arbitrary on the part of the Israeli forces." [185] On 26 December 2023, Euro-Med Monitor submitted a file to the International Criminal Court and United Nations special rapporteurs documenting dozens of cases of field executions carried out by Israeli forces and calling for an investigation. [186] [187] [188] In March 2024, video of an IDF soldier bragging about killing an elderly deaf man hiding under his bed was released, leading the Council on American-Islamic Relations to condemn the killing as an execution and war crime. [189] [190] The Israeli military stated they would begin a probe into the incident. [191]
Defense officials told Haaretz that the Israeli army had created kill zones in Gaza, in which any person who crossed an "invisible line" was killed. [192]
A mass grave with 283 bodies was uncovered in April 2024 at Khan Younis's Nasser medical complex in the southern Gaza city. 30 bodies were buried in two graves in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. [193] [194] Reportedly, bodies were found with their hands and feet tied. [195] Following the discovery of the mass graves, UN human rights chief Volker TĆ¼rk called for an independent investigation on the intentional killing of civilians by the IDF. [196] A spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights described the discoveries, stating, "Some of them had their hands tied, which of course indicates serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and these need to be subjected to further investigations". [197] William Schabas, a Canadian expert on international human rights law, stated mass graves have "always been an indication that war crimes have been committed". [198]
A report in early November 2023 listed over 100 significant archeological and antiquities sites, libraries, religious sites and places of ancient historical importance that Israel had partly or completely destroyed. [199] [200] [134] [201] [202]
In January 2024, The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Gaza estimated that 104 mosques had been damaged or destroyed since the start of the conflict. [203] BBC has verified 74 cases where religious sites were damaged or destroyed, of which 72 were mosques and two were churches. [204] The Nation wrote that the destruction of the Great Omari Mosque in particular, originally a fifth-century Byzantine church, was "a crime against cultural heritage. But more importantly... part of a campaign of total annihilation... a deliberate element of the Israeli campaign to erase all traces of Palestinian life.". [205]
Some notable places that Israel destroyed or damaged are: [201] [206]
Name | Type | Dated to | Damage | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ahmed Yassin mosque Al-Shati, Gaza City |
mosque | destroyed | Oct. 9, 2023 [207] | |
Al Amin Muhammad Mosque, Khan Yunis | mosque | destroyed | Oct. 20, 2023 [208] | |
Anthedon Harbour | historic | 800 BCE | destroyed | unknown date |
Ard-al-Moharbeen Roman cemetery, northern Gaza discovered 2022 containing 125+ tombs and two rare lead sarcophagi |
historic | 1st c. CE | Almost completely destroyed (bombardment) | |
Deir al-Balah museum | cultural | |||
Gaza Municipal Library [200] | cultural | 1999 | destroyed | |
Al-Gharbi mosque, Gaza City | mosque | destroyed | Oct. 9, 2023 [207] | |
Great Omari Mosque | cultural/mosque | 1277 | destroyed | Dec. 8, 2023 |
Holy Family Church | church | 1974 | Damaged | Nov. 4, 2023 |
Jabalia Byzantine Church | church | 444 CE | destroyed | Oct. 2023 |
Jaffa Mosque in Deir al-Balah | mosque | Destroyed | Dec. 2023 [209] [210] | |
Al-Mathaf al-Funduq museum | cultural | 2008 | destroyed | Nov. 3, 2023 |
Othman bin Qashqar mosque | mosque | 1220 | damaged | Dec. 7, 2023 |
Qalaat Barquq
[199] Mamluk Sultan Barquq's Fort, Khan Yunis |
historic | 1387 | ||
Al-Qarara Cultural Museum | cultural | 2016 | destroyed | Oct. 2023 |
Qasr al-Basha (Radwan Castle, Pasha's Palace Museum) | historic | 1200s | damaged | Dec. 11, 2023 |
Rashad El Shawa Cultural Center | cultural | 1988 | destroyed | unknown date |
Al-Sammara Hamam | historic | pre-Islam | destroyed | Dec. 8, 2023 |
Sayed al-Hashim Mosque | mosque | 1100s | Damaged | Oct. 2023 |
St. Hilarion Monastery (Tell Umm Amer) | church | ca. 340 CE | Damaged | unknown date |
St. Porphyrius Church | church | 425 CE | Damaged | Oct. 18, 2023 |
Tell el-Ajjul fortified city | historic | 2000ā1800 BCE | Damaged | unknown date |
Israel has damaged or destroyed at least sixteen cemeteries across the Gaza Strip, [211] in some cases, creating dirt roads across them or establishing military positions. The intentional destruction of religious sites without military necessity is a possible war crime. [212] [213] On 21 December, bulldozers destroyed a cemetery in the Al-Saha neighborhood in eastern Gaza. [214] [215] On 6 January 2024, Palestinians in Tuffah reburied bodies after the Israeli army reportedly exhumed them and smashed their graves. [216] Gazans in Khan Younis reported the Israeli army raided a cemetery and took corpses. [217] [218] The Khan Younis cemetery was reportedly bulldozed over, tombstones crushed, and human remains were visible. [219] Muna Haddad, a lawyer on the treatment of the dead, stated, "What is happening is... considered a war crime of 'committing outrages upon personal dignity' under the Rome Statute." [211] On 27 January 2024, Israeli forces escorted CNN into Gaza in an attempt to explain the destruction of Bani Suheila cemetery, through which a tunnel ran, according to the IDF; but during the three hour visit, Israeli commanders failed to prove their claim. [220] Moreover, the IDF did not permit CNN to see any alleged entrance to the tunnel inside the cemetery, and later provided drone footage of two tunnel entrances, both located outside the cemetery. CNN broadcast footage of completely destroyed, and dug-up cemetery grounds. [221]
It is an entire nation out there that is responsible. It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It's absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d'etat.
ā Isaac Herzog [222]
Several actions taken by the Israeli army, including its blockade on electricity, food, fuel and water, were characterized as collective punishment, a war crime prohibited by treaty in both international and non-international armed conflicts, more specifically Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II. [223] [224] Israel's president Isaac Herzog accused the residents of Gaza of collective responsibility for the war. [225] [d] [227] Doctors Without Borders international president Christos Christou said millions of civilians in Gaza faced "collective punishment" due to Israel's blockade on fuel and medicine. [228] [229]
In an interview with The New Yorker, human rights expert Sari Bashi noted the historical uniqueness of Israeli officials openly admitting they are engaging in collective punishment. [230] On 18 October, UN Secretary-General AntĆ³nio Guterres stated Hamas' attacks "cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people." [231] On 24 October, Human Rights Watch criticized Israel's refusal to allow fuel or water into a Gaza, terming it a war crime. [232] On 29 October, Karim Ahmad Khan stated Israel's impeding aid to Gaza may constitute a crime under the International Criminal Court. [233] On 7 December, Khan again stated "wilfully impeding relief supplies" may constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute. [234] On 20 January 2024, the IDF dropped leaflets with hostages' images on Rafah, stating, "Do you want to return home? Please make the call if you recognise one of them." [235] On 25 January 2024, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that Israeli troops had fired upon and killed twenty civilians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza City. [236] [237]
On 31 January 2024, Haaretz reported that Israeli army commanders were ordering troops to burn down and destroy unoccupied buildings in Gaza. [238] According to Human Rights Watch: "Unlawful and wanton excessive destruction of property that is not militarily justified, is also a war crime." [239] On 16 April 2024, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office stated, "Israel continues to impose unlawful restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance, and to carry out widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure". [240] The Irish foreign minister MicheƔl Martin called Israel's actions "fully disproportionate and... a breach of humanitarian law in terms of the destruction of Gaza". [241]
As part of Israel's blockade on Gaza, water supplies from Israel were cut off. [242] [243] Article 51 of the Berlin Rules on Water Resources bars combatants from removing water or water infrastructure to cause death or force its movement. [244] The EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell called Israel's cutting off water, electricity and food as "not in accordance with international law". [245] On 14 October, the UNRWA announced Gaza no longer had clean drinking water, and two million people were at risk of death from dehydration. [246] On 15 October, Israel announced it had resumed supplying water to a single location in southern Gaza to "encourage" movement. [247] [248] Aid workers in Gaza refuted water was available. [249] By 16 October, civilians drank seawater and water contaminated with sewage to survive. [250]
Tufts University law professor Tom Dannenbaum wrote that Israel's initial October 2023 siege order "commands the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, which is a violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime". [251] On 25 October 2023, Oxfam stated Israel's use of "starvation as a method of war" was a violation of international law, and that Gaza was being "collectively punished in full view of the world". [252] In March 2024, the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, stated Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war. [253] Similarly, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker TĆ¼rk, stated, "The extent of Israelās continued restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime". [254]
Human Rights Watch stated Israel was committing a war crime by using starvation as a method of warfare. [255] Alex de Waal stated it was the worst man-made famine in 75 years. [256] Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former chief prosecutor for the ICC, stated, "Stopping aid in particular to destroy civilian life ā with intention to destroy a historical community ā is genocide." [257]
EuroMed Monitor described the situation as a war of starvation against civilians in the Gaza Strip. EuroMed noted living conditions had reached catastrophic levels by Israel cutting off all food supplies to the Northern half, and bombing and destroying factories, bakeries, food stores, water stations, and tanks throughout the entire enclave. EuroMed additionally noted Israel deliberately focused its attacks on targeting electrical generators and solar energy units, on which commercial facilities and restaurants depend, to maintain the minimum possible level of their work. Israel also targeted the agricultural areas east of Gaza, flour stores, and fishermen's boats, as well as relief organizations' centers, including those belonging to the UNRWA. As a result, over 90% of the children in Gaza suffered from varying health issues, including malnutrition, anemia, and weakened immunity. [258] Israeli snipers reportedly targeted people waiting for humanitarian aid. [259]
Israel is alleged to have broken medical neutrality, a war crime under the Geneva Conventions as hospitals are given special protection under international humanitarian law. [260] [261] These attacks have been carried out in a manner that aid groups and international bodies are increasingly referring to as systematic. [262] According to Gaza officials, the IDF deliberately targeted ambulances and health facilities with airstrikes. [263] [264] In a statement, the Palestine Red Crescent demanded "accountability for this war crime". [265] The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, UNRWA, and Medecins Sans Frontieres reported the deaths of their medical personnel. [266] [267] On 14 October, the World Health Organization said the killing of health care workers and the destruction of health facilities "denies civilians the basic human right of life-saving health" and is prohibited by International Humanitarian Law. [268] [269] On 17 October, WHO stated 51 health facilities had been attacked by Israel. [270] [271] On 4 November, the Gaza Health Ministry stated 105 medical facilities had been deliberately targeted. [272]
On 21 October, the Ministry of Health noted Israel had attacked 69 health facilities, 24 ambulances, put 7 hospitals out of commission, and killed 37 medical staff. [273] Health workers and aid groups said several hospitals in Gaza were hit by airstrikes and shelling. The Palestine Red Crescent Society accused Israel of "deliberately" carrying out airstrikes "directly around" Gaza's second-largest hospital, al-Quds Hospital, in north Gaza, to force them to evacuate the facility. The World Health Organization (WHO) found it impossible to evacuate the hospital. According to CNN, even those who evacuated south have not been safe. [274] On 30 October 2023, a Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, located in the south of Gaza, was struck by a "direct hit", causing damage and injuries. [275] [276]
On 3 November, an Israeli airstrike hit an ambulance convoy departing from al-Shifa Hospital carrying, according to a Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman, 15-20 critically injured patients. [277] The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying one of the ambulances was being used by a "Hamas terrorist cell", and was close to their position. [278] In response, Yanis Varoufakis noted, "Even if the ambulance was carrying a Hamas overlord, bombing it violates the Geneva Convention." [279] UN chief AntĆ³nio Guterres stated he was "horrified" by the attack. [280] In prior weeks, Israel had released an animated video stating Al-Shifa hospital contained a hidden, top-secret underground military center. [281] This was flatly denied, with Hamas stating Israel was using "prefabricated" evidence to pre-empt a military strike on a hospital. [282] Laws of war provide limited protections to medical facilities used in such capacities. [283] HRW stated the strikes were apparently unlawful and should be investigated as a possible war crime. [284]
During the Siege of Gaza City, Israeli snipers reportedly fired on the intensive care unit in Al-Quds Hospital, killing one person and wounding 28. [285] Doctors in Al-Shifa Hospital reported snipers at the outskirts of the complex were firing at "any moving person". [286] Fabrizio Carbone, the Middle East regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, stated Israel's attacks on al-Shifa Hospital could not continue, stressing patients and hospital staff should be "protected in line with the laws of war". [287] In response to the Al-Shifa Hospital siege, Human Rights Watch stated Israel's actions against hospitals need to be investigated as war crimes. [288] Jennifer Cassidy, a legal expert at University of Oxford, stated Israel's siege on al-Shifa was a war crime "plain and simple". [289] Following an Israeli attack on Indonesia Hospital, the Indonesian Foreign Minister called it a clear violation of international humanitarian law. [290]
On 18 November 2023, two people were killed while traveling in a clearly identified Doctors Without Borders evacuation convoy in Gaza City. [291] Doctors Without Borders termed it a "deliberate attack." [292] On 16 December, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called for an international investigation into Israeli war crimes at the Kamal Adwan Hospital. [293] On 17 January 2024, Israeli fire damaged the Jordanian field hospital, leading the Jordanian army to call it a "flagrant breach of international law". [294] On 19 January, Jordan stated Israel had "deliberately" targeted the hospital. [295] The World Health Organization stated on 24 January it had recorded 660 Israel attacks on healthcare facilities, calling them "a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law". [296] On 31 January, Doctors Without Borders stated Israel had conducted "systematic attacks on health facilities" which they stated was unprecedented for their organization. [297]
On 8 February, the Palestinian Red Crescent accused the IDF of deliberately killing one of their paramedics. [298] On 11 February, the Red Crescent accused the IDF of deliberately targeting and killing two of their paramedics sent to rescue Hind Rajab, calling the killing a war crime. [299] [300] In response to an Israeli attack at the Al-Aqsa Hospital on 31 March 2024, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, "The ongoing attacks and militarisation of hospitals must stop. International humanitarian law must be respected." [301]
Israel alleges medical facilities are used to store weapons and have been used as a base of fire, and that hospitals' special protection is lost if that is the case. [66] However, the IDF has not presented hard evidence to support their claims. [302] Israel also does not have the power to unilaterally decide if a hospital has lost protected status. [302] According to International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, the bar for evidence that a hospital, school, or place of worship is being used for military purposes is very high. [303] The burden of proof also lays with the Israelis. [304] Jessica Wolfendale, an expert in military ethics at Case Western Reserve University, stated that even if Israel had been able to prove Shifa concealed a military operation, international law remains in place, as, "Steps need to be taken to protect the innocent." [304] A hospital attack is also still illegal under international law if it harms civilians disproportionately to the military objective. [304]
Ardi Imseis, an international law expert at Queen's University at Kingston, stated, "Until such time that the Israelis provide proof that it has been converted into a military object, the civilian nature of the object does not change." [305] Human Rights Watch stated, "The Israeli government has put forward no evidence that would justify stripping hospitals of their special protections." [306] [307] [308] The OHCHR stated, "Even if Israel contends that a medical facility has lost its protection... it must nevertheless comply with the principles of precautions and proportionality." [309]
On 1 November, Reporters Without Borders asked the International Criminal Court to begin a priority war crimes investigation into the killing of nine journalists. [310] RSF noted that of the 41 journalists killed in the first month of the conflict, 36 among them were Palestinian reporters killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip. [311]
In an interview with NPR, Jodie Ginsberg, the president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, called for an ICC investigation into the killing of journalists in Gaza, stating the killings "appear to have been targeted". [312] On 27 January 2024, the International Federation of Journalists wrote an open-letter to Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant stating they would take Israel to court if it did not comply with the ICJ's order to avoid targeting journalists. [313] In February 2024, the deputy director of the International Federation of Journalists stated, "There appears to have been a systematic campaign to kill and terrify and maim journalists in Gaza". [314]
On 13 February 2024, the Al Jazeera Media Network stated Israel had attacked two of its journalists in Gaza, calling it "a full-fledged crime added to Israel's crimes against journalists, and a new part in the series of the deliberate targeting of Al Jazeera's journalists". [315] A representative from Media Defence stated, "Journalists are civilians so they are entitled to all the protections that civilians should have in times of conflict". [316] The director of the International Press Institute stated, "We see journalists clearly targetedā¦ Our organisation has been monitoring press freedom for almost 75 years and this is the worst attack we have seen on journalists in any conflict". [317]
Reporters Without Borders conducted a preliminary investigation into the killing of Issam Abdallah, a Reuters photojournalist killed in Lebanon, and found that the strike on a clearly marked vehicle marked "Press" was purposely targeted and that the fire had come from Israel. [318] An investigation by the Agence France Press found Abdallah's killing was used with tank shells of Israeli origin and were deliberate and targeted. [319] Amnesty International stated the attack was a likely war crime and that "Israel must not be allowed to kill and attack journalists with impunity." [320] Human Rights Watch stated the attack was apparently deliberate and a war crime. [321] A study by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research found it likely "that a Merkava tank, after firing two tank rounds, also used its machine gun against the location of the journalists". [322]
A February 2024 report by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon concluded that an Israeli tank killed Abadallah when it fired at "clearly identifiable journalists", and that this broke international law. [323] The report "assessed that there was no exchange of fire across the Blue Line at the time of the incident", with no records of any exchange of fire across the border for the 40 minutes before the tank firing. [323] The Israel Defense Forces responded to the United Nations report by claiming that Hezbollah attacked them, so tank fire was used to retaliate. [323] The report concluded that the attack was a violation of UNSCR 1701 and international law. [324]
Following the Israeli killing of Samer Abu Daqqa, Al Jazeera stated it was referring the incident to the International Criminal Court. [325]
On 13 October, the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million people from north Gaza, saying that they needed to separate the civilian population from the militants embedded among them, and that the population would be allowed to return after the war. [326] Gazan officials initially asked residents to ignore the order, with the Interior Ministry stating Israel sought to "displace us once again from our land". [327] The evacuation was characterized as a forcible transfer by Jan Egeland, a Norwegian diplomat involved with the Oslo Accord. [328] Egeland stated, "There are hundreds of thousands of people fleeing for their life ā [that is] not something that should be called an evacuation. It is a forcible transfer of people from all of northern Gaza, which according to the Geneva Convention is a war crime." [328] UN Special rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned of a mass ethnic cleansing in Gaza. [329] Israeli historian Raz Segal termed it a "textbook case of genocide." [330] The action was condemned by the UN, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, and the IRC. [331]
On 14 October, the World Health Organization issued a statement condemning Israel's order to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza, calling it a "death sentence". [332] [333] Doctors noted both the southern Gaza Strip's lack of hospital beds and the impossibility of transporting patients, such as newborns in incubators and patients on ventilators. [334] Nevertheless, on 22 October, the IDF dropped leaflets in northern Gaza stating anyone who did not comply with the evacuation would be considered a "terrorist". [335] On 20 December, Human Rights Watch stated the risk of forced displacement was growing. [336] On 12 January, the Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights stated that Israel's compelled evacuations had failed to ensure protections required under international law, thus constituting a potential war crime. [144] In March 2024, Forensic Architecture stated that Israel's "humanitarian evacuations" might amount to the war crime of forced displacement. [337]
In March 2024, Paula Gaviria Betancur, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of internally displaced persons, stated ahead of Israel's planned Rafah offensive: "Any evacuation order imposed on Rafah under the current circumstances, with the rest of Gaza reduced to rubble, would be a flagrant violation of international humanitarian and human rights law." [338] French president Emmanuel Macron told Netanyahu that a forced transfer of the population from Rafah would be a war crime. [339]
Israel sought to create an expanded buffer zone in Gaza. Satellite analysis by researchers at Hebrew University found the buffer zone was already in advanced stages. [340] By January 2024, Israel had destroyed more than 1,000 buildings for the planned zone. [341] In April 2024, UNOSAT found that around 90 percent of the 4,000 buildings on Gaza's eastern border had been damaged or destroyed. [342] The Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated such civilian properties were protected under international humanitarian law. [343] Shaul Arieli, a former IDF colonel and expert on Israeli borders, stated that the creation of a permanent buffer zone was illegal, since Israel is prohibited from altering the boundaries of Gaza as an occupying power. [344] Geoffrey Nice, a war crimes prosecutor, stated, "It is unjustified, by any view, under international law." [345] Volker TĆ¼rk, the UN human rights chief, stated, "Extensive destruction of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly, amounts to a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and a war crime." [346] An analysis by Haaretz found the buffer zone could occupy as much as 16 percent of Gaza's overall territory. [347]
During the war, soldiers looted Palestinian homes in Gaza, reportedly taking "whatever is easy and accessible". [348] On 21 February 2024, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the IDF's Military Advocate General, stated that some soldiers' actions ā including looting and the removal of private property ā had "crossed the criminal threshold". [349] Tomer-Yerushalmi stated such cases were under investigation. [350] The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the looting a war crime and demanded the Biden administration to condemn them. [351] The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly prohibits the looting of civilian property during wartime. [352] [353] [354]
During the war, the Israeli military was increasingly active in the West Bank. According to Amnesty International, Israel violated international humanitarian law by using disproportionate force during arrest raids, blocking medical assistance to people with life-threatening injuries, attacking paramedics, and conducting unlawful killings. [355] Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty's director of global research, stated, "These unlawful killings are in blatant violation of international human rights law and are committed with impunity". [356] On 5 March, the Palestinian Red Crescent stated that it had recorded 427 violations against its medical mission by Israel in the West Bank, terming these a violation of international humanitarian law. [357]
Following the demolition of a Palestinian activist's family home in East Jerusalem ā part of a broader wave of forced displacement in the West Bank [e] ā the European Union External Action Service stated, "Such acts are in violation of International Humanitarian Law". [359] George Noll, head of the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs, condemned the demolition. [360] Following the Israeli approval of around 3,500 new illegal settlements in the West Bank, UN human rights chief Volker TĆ¼rk stated the transfer of Israel's population into the occupied territories was a "war crime under international law". [361] [362] Following the announcement that Israel was seizing 800 hectares of Palestinian land in the West Bank, the Federal Foreign Office stated, "The settlements violate international law and fuel further tensions in this extremely fragile situation." [363]
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International's Crisis Evidence Lab shared evidence that Israeli military units striking in Gaza and Lebanon have employed white phosphorus artillery rounds; Israel denied the report, calling the accusation "unequivocally false". [364] White phosphorus munitions are allowed on battlefields for specific purposes such as creating smokescreens, generating illumination, and marking targets. They are not banned as chemical weapons under international conventions due to these legitimate uses. [364] [365]
White phosphorus is used in smoke, illumination, and incendiary munitions, and ignites when exposed to atmospheric oxygen. Upon contact, it can cause deep and severe injuries, potentially leading to multiple organ failure, and even minor burns can be fatal. White phosphorus is considered an incendiary weapon, and Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons prohibits their use against military targets located among civilians, although Israel is not a signatory. [366] According to Human Rights Watch, the use of white phosphorus is "unlawfully indiscriminate when airburst in populated urban areas, where it can burn down houses and cause egregious harm to civilians", and "violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life". [367]
According to Amnesty International weapons investigator Brian Castner, whether this particular case constitutes a war crime depends on "the intended target of this attack, and the intended use", but that, "generally, any attacks that fail to discriminate between civilians and military forces can potentially be a violation of the laws of war". [368] On 31 October, after an investigation, Amnesty International stated that an October 16 Israeli white phosphorus attack was indiscriminate, unlawful, and "must be investigated as a war crime", due to its use on the populated Lebanese town of Dhayra, which injured at least nine civilians. [369] [370] On 2 November, Amnesty International stated its investigations into four incidents on October 10, 11, 16 and 17 showed Israel had used white phosphorus munitions. [371] In Lebanon, Israel's white phosphorus bombs have destroyed over 4.5 million sq m of forest in southern Lebanon with the economic loses being valued at nearly 20 million dollars. [372] An investigation by the Washington Post uncovered that white phosphorus used in an October attack that injured 9 people in Lebanon were supplied by the US. [373]
On 10 October, the Israeli Defence Force published a video that appeared to show IDF soldiers shooting four surrendering Palestinians. [374] [375] Footage analysis indicated the men appeared to be surrendering, with three men getting on the ground with their arms raised, one waving a piece of white clothing. None of them appeared to be armed at the time of the shooting, while a subsequent video showed the bodies had been moved, with weapons placed near them on the ground. The analysis concluded the four men were unarmed Palestinians who left Gaza through a breach in the separation wall. [374] An IDF spokesman said he had no comment. [374] Killing surrendered civilians or combatants is a war crime. [376] [377]
In video footage dated 8 December 2023, the Israeli military is seen killing two Palestinians from the West Bank's Far'a refugee camp in what B'Tselem described as "illegal executions". One man holding a cannister was shot, and was then gunned down while he laid bleeding on the ground. A second man, who was completely unarmed and hiding under a car, was shot and killed instantly. The Israeli military later said they would investigate the attacks. [378]
Human rights groups documented multiple instances of civilians in Gaza being shot by Israeli soldiers while waving white flags. [379] The Human Rights Watch Israel-Palestine director stated Israel had a "track record of unlawfully firing at unarmed people who pose no threat with impunity ā even those waving white flags". [380] [f] In early January, a video surfaced dating to 12 November showing displaced Palestinians evacuating Gaza City, including a woman and her child. Despite the group clearly carrying white flags, the woman was reportedly shot and killed by an Israeli sniper. [382]
On 24 January 2024, British network ITV released footage of an Israeli sniper shooting and killing a man carrying a white flag whom the journalist had interviewed only moments before his death. [383] Both the Norwegian Refugee Council and Amnesty International termed it a possible war crime. [384] An IDF senior commander later stated, "There are mistakes, it is war." [385]
According to a witness interviewed by Al Jazeera, the corpses of 30 people were found on 31 January 2024 inside a schoolyard in northern Gaza, with the bodies reportedly blindfolded, and their legs and hands tied. [386] [387] [388] The Council on American-Islamic Relations said the incident should be probed and added to South Africa's ICJ case against Israel. [389] The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it a "violation of all relevant international norms and laws". [390] The Canadian-Palestinian former peace negotiator Diana Buttu stated the incident was "clearly a war crime". [391] In March 2024, a man in Zeitoun was deliberately run over by an Israeli tank while handcuffed, according to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. [392] [393]
Footage obtained by Al Jazeera English showed two men waving white flags being killed by Israeli forces, then buried by army bulldozers. [394] The IDF confirmed the killing of the two men, stating they had been acting in a "suspicious manner" and didn't respond to warning shots; they said they buried them with bulldozers as they feared they were carrying explosives. [395] The Palestine Red Crescent Society condemned Israel's actions as "extrajudicial killings". [396] The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the killings a "heinous war crime". [397]
On 15 December, the IDF released a statement announcing that they had killed three of their own hostages by friendly fire. According to the Israeli military, they "mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat" during operations in Shuja'iyya and subsequently fired at them, killing them. [398] [399] [400] According to an Israeli military official on 16 December, the three hostages were shirtless and waving a white flag. The official claimed that one soldier responded to this by "open[ing] fire" and "declar[ing] that they're terrorists"; more Israeli forces fired, killing two hostages "immediately" and wounding the third hostage, who appealed for help in Hebrew. [401] The wounded hostage was pursued into a nearby building by IDF soldiers, where he was killed despite continued pleas for help. [402] Though he claimed that the soldiers were "under pressure" when this happened, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi also stated that "It is forbidden to shoot at someone who raises a white flag and seeks to surrender", a sentiment echoed by the former head of Mossad, Danny Yatom. [403] Nahum Barnea wrote that the killing of the hostages, unarmed and waving a white flag, was a "war crime" and that "international law is very clear on the issue". [404] [405] A preliminary IDF investigation found the soldiers were told to open fire on all fighting-age men who approached them, after a number of incidents where militants disguised themselves as civilians to approach soldiers. [406]
On 30 January 2024, Israeli forces entered the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin disguised as medics and civilians while carrying concealed rifles. [407] After entering the hospital they drew their weapons and killed three militants ā one member of Hamas and two members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad ā one of whom was a patient. [408] [409] [410] The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed concern that the raid was a violation of international humanitarian law. [411] Aurel Sari, a professor at the University of Exeter, stated, "By disguising themselves as civilians and as medical personnel, the Israeli forces involved in the operation appear to have resorted to perfidy in violation of the applicable rules." [412] Tom Dannenbaum, a professor of international law, stated, "Someone who is paralyzed is incapacitated in that respect, so an attack on that individual would be prohibited. Violating that prohibition would be a war crime." [413] The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the shootings a crime against humanity. [414] The Independent Commission for Human Rights called the attack "an assault on an institution protected by international law". [415] OHCHR stated it was a "seemingly planned extrajudicial execution." [416]
The IDF initially said the raid had been a "joint IDF, ISA, and Israel Police counterterrorism activity", and later said that none of their soldiers were physically present during the raid. [417] A panel of human rights experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council stated the raid could constitute a war crime and recommended an investigation. [418]
On 17 January 2024, Israeli soldiers were recorded using a Palestinian shop-owner in Dura, Hebron, West Bank, as a human shield. [419] [420] In an interview with Reuters, the shop-owner stated, "He (the first soldier) told me that he will use me as a human shield, that young people shouldn't hurl stones." [421] On 9 February, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated that an ambulance crew in Beita, Nablus, West Bank had been detained by Israeli forces and used as human shields. [422] A 21-year-old man from Gaza City stated to Al Jazeera that he had been used as a human shield by Israeli forces. [423]
Video evidence surfaced of what was described as a "flagrant violation of international laws related to the protection of civilians" by Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. Israeli soldiers were shown surrounding detainees in Yatta, Hebron who were being dragged and assaulted by the Israeli soldiers. Many of the detainees had been stripped naked, having both their arms and feet bound, and beaten with the butts of rifles and trampled. [424] Video evidence depicting degradation towards detainees shows Israeli soldiers transporting Palestinians from Ofer prison, all of whom are blindfolded and stripped completely naked. [425] In another video uploaded by an Israeli soldier, a blindfolded and bound Palestinian is shown kneeling on the ground. The soldier taunts him in Arabic, telling him "ŲµŲØŲ§Ų Ų§ŁŲ®ŁŲ± ŁŲ§ ŁŲŲØŲ©" (Good morning, whore) before repeatedly kicking and spitting on him. [426] On 11 December, Human Rights Watch director, Omar Shakir, stated the blindfolding and stripping of Palestinian detainees represented a war crime. [427] [428]
On 20 December, Amnesty International called for an investigation into mass detentions, disappearances, inhumane treatment, and detainee deaths. [429] In February 2024, the BBC published a report detailing documented instances of Israeli soldiers abusing and humiliating Palestinian detainees, which Mark Ellis, an expert on international criminal tribunals, said showed possible violations of laws regarding prisoners of war. [430] After the IDF dismissed one of the reservists shown in the video, Sir Geoffrey Nice, an expert on war crimes, stated a wider investigation was needed beyond the dismissal. [431] In March 2024, the United Nations stated that Israel had detained and tortured its employees in Gaza, extracting forced confessions. [432] [433] A Bellingcat analysis found instances of a collection of images and videos showing the IDF degrading Palestinian detainees, which Queenās University Belfast war crimes professor Luke Moffett stated showed potential war crimes. [434]
On 19 February 2024, a group of United Nations special rapporteurs released a report stating, "Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers. At least two female Palestinian detainees were reportedly raped". [435] In response to the report, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State said, "Civilians and detainees must be treated humanely, and in accordance with international humanitarian law." [436] Physicians for Human Rights-Israel also described the sexual humiliation of detainees, including sexual insults and urination on prisoners. [437] The Palestinian Prisoner's Society stated men had been subjected to severe sexual assault, including attempted rape and violating strip searches. [438] A story originally reported by Al Jazeera of alleged rape of Palestinian women by IDF soldiers at Al-Shifa Hospital was later retracted as a fabrication. [439]
Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, criticized the underreporting of sexual violence against Palestinians, stating, "Rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide! It must stop!" [440]
States transferring weapons to Israel faced charges of violations of international law. In February 2024, a group of more than a dozen United Nations special rapporteurs stated that any export of weapons or munitions to Israel was "likely to violate international humanitarian law." [441] The UN experts stated that parties signed to the Arms Trade Treaty have additional obligations to deny arms exports if the weapons could be used for serious violations of international humanitarian law. [442] The group called for an arms embargo. [443] In a statement, Human Rights Watch stated that the United Kingdom's refusal to suspend arms transfer to Israel put it "at risk of failing to prevent and being complicit in serious violations of international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity". [444] In March 2024, Nicaragua filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice against Germany, stating that its financial and military support to Israel was facilitating genocide in Gaza. [445]
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly was sued by the Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights group for authorizing the export of weapons used by Israel to violate international law. [446] Soon after, Joly stated the Canadian government was no longer issuing new weapons export licenses to the Israeli military. [447] The Government of Denmark was sued by Oxfam, Amnesty International, Action Aid, and Al-Haq for their arms transfers to Israel, with the organizations stating, "Denmark violates international rules on arms trade and risks becoming complicit in violations of international humanitarian law ā including war crimes ā and a plausible genocide." [448] In March 2024, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam stated that Israel was committing violations of international humanitarian law with weapons provided by the United States. [449]
After the UK Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell stated Israeli compliance with international humanitarian law was under review, the UK shadow foreign secretary David Lammy stated arms export licenses should be denied if "there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law". [450] 600 UK lawyers, including three former justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, stated the UK's arming of Israel was a breach of international law. [451] Following reports the UK Foreign Office found Israel had violated international humanitarian law, Geoffrey Nice stated, "Countries supplying arms to Israel may now be complicit in criminal warfare." [452]
Numerous heads of state criticized Israel's war crimes. Turkish president Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan criticized Western countries for their complicity as Israel committed war crimes. [453] Colombian President Gustavo Petro termed Israel's campaign as a genocide. [454] Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and King Abdullah II of Jordan both condemned the collective punishment of Gaza. [455] Irish President Michael D. Higgins demanded the al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion be investigated as a war crime. [g] [459] Chilean President Gabriel Boric condemned Israel's "collective punishment" the Gazan civilian population [460] [461] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the collective punishment of Gaza. [462] Brazilian President Luiz InĆ”cio Lula da Silva stated, "It's not a war, it's a genocide." [463]
Belgian deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter called for sanctions against Israel and an EU ban on countries responsible for war crimes. [464] On 10 November, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr StĆøre stated Israel's actions violated international laws of war. [465] Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the Israeli actions in Gaza as "indiscriminate killing" and stated he had "serious doubts" Israel was following international law. [466] [467] Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called Israel actions in Gaza a genocide. [468] Irish PM Leo Varadkar stated Israel was committing collective punishment. [469] Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani called for an international investigation into Israeli war crimes. [470] [471] On 12 December, Joe Biden described Israel's attacks as "indiscriminate". [472]
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated Israel was collectively punishing Gaza. [473] Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi described Israeli actions in Gaza as crimes against humanity. [474] Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister of the Maldives, warned the evacuation of northern Gaza could amount to the "war crime of forcible transfer". [475] Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian described the events as genocide and a crime against humanity. [476] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized Israel's "indiscriminate" force and "flagrant" violations of international humanitarian law, stating the conflict risked creating a crisis that would last "many decades, if not centuries". [477] [478]
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad termed Israeli actions as a genocide. [479] In a joint statement, the Foreign Ministers of nine Arab countries ā the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Morocco ā described Israeli actions as collective punishment. [480] Oman's Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, called for a war crimes investigation into Israeli action in Gaza. [481] Qatari foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, stated Israel's Al-Shifa Hospital siege was a "war crime and a blatant violation of international laws". [482] Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian foreign minister, stated Israel's actions fit within the legal definition of genocide. [483] The Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated Israel was engaged in collective punishment through its sieges, indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and starvation. [484]
On 9 January 2024, David Cameron, the British foreign secretary, stated he was "worried" Israel had breached international law in Gaza. [485] On 14 January 2024, Cameron said that "Israel is acting in self-defence" and denied that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. [486] On 14 February, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani described Israel's attack on Gaza as disproportionate. [487] Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State, described Israel's response as disproportionate. [488] Quoting Giora Eiland, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell stated Israel's objective appeared to be to "turn Gaza into a place that is temporarily or permanently impossible to live in". [489] MicheƔl Martin, the Irish foreign minister, stated the 7 October attacks and Israel's actions in Gaza both "represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale". [490]
Ione Belarra, the Spanish minister of social rights, accused the EU and the US of "being complicit in Israel's war crimes." [491] Belarra further called for Israel to be denounced before the International Criminal Court for genocide in the Gaza Strip. [492] The Workers Party of Brazilian president Luiz InƔcio Lula da Silva officially classified Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide. [493] The Parliament of Sri Lanka sent a letter to the UN secretary general, stating, Israel's "indiscriminate bombings in hospitals, amounts to a war crime under international law and the Geneva Convention." [494] U.S. officials reported alarm at Israeli claims of the "inevitability" of civilian deaths, after they used the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as historical examples. [495] On 20 December, HuffPost reported US officials were urging Switzerland against a Geneva Convention conference. [496]
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen accused Israel of committing "textbook war crimes". [497] French Senator Guillaume Gontard stated that the Israeli prime minister was "using hunger as a weapon" in Gaza. [498] Australian Senator Mehreen Faruqi stated, "Israel is committing war crime after war crime in broad daylight and is getting away with it." [499]
Vanessa Frazier, the Maltese ambassador to the UN, stated Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid "may amount to a crime against humanity and a war crime". [500] Qatari diplomat Sheikha Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani stated the Al-Shifa Hospital siege was a war crime. [501] Nicolas de RiviĆØre, the French ambassador to the United Nations, called for an immediate ceasefire, stating, "It has to stop. Whatās happening right now is totally contrary to the Geneva Conventions." [502]
On 6 December, Oxfam stated the international community, and in particular, Israel's allies, were "complicit in the mass death, forcible displacement, starvation and deprivation being inflicted upon more than 2 million people." [503] The International Federation for Human Rights stated Israel's actions in Gaza constituted an unfolding genocide and called for the arrest of Israeli government officials. [504] A group of 31 Palestinian human rights organizations, led by Al-Haq, wrote to UN chief AntĆ³nio Guterres stating UN aid agencies were in breach of international law by aiding Israel's war objectives. [505] The Norwegian Refugee Council stated any push of Gazans into Egypt would be a war crime or crime against humanity. [506] The Non-Aligned Movement, a body of 120 countries, issued a statement calling Israel's war on Gaza "illegal". [507]
In February 2024, Amnesty International warned that states arming Israel risked violating international law, stating, "By providing arms to Israel, EU states and the US are violating their responsibility to prevent genocide and contributing to war crimes and crimes against humanity." [508] Agnes Callamard, the head of Amnesty, wrote for Foreign Affairs, stating international law was in its "death throes" due to the "culmination of years of erosion of the international rule of law and global human rights system". [509] The Israel-Palestine director for Human Rights Watch stated that years of no accountability for Israel had led to "this flagrant disregard for the most basic principles" of international law. [510] In March 2024, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights stated that Europe and the U.S. were allowing Israel to commit crimes "with the absence of mechanisms that would compel it to abide by the rules of international humanitarian law". [511] Physicians for Human RightsāIsrael stated it was preparing to take the Israeli military to court for its "indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza, stating Israel was failing to fulfill its "obligation according to international humanitarian law". [512]
A group of independent United Nations experts stated that the Israel Defense Forces engaged in "indiscriminate military attacks". [513] Paula Gaviria Betancur, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, stated Israel's forced evacuation orders constituted a crime against humanity. [514] In March 2024, Betancur stated the world "must abandon the fiction that Israel will respect the principles of international humanitarian and human rights law in its military operations". [515] Balakrishnan Rajagopal , the UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, stated Israel's destruction of housing and civilian infrastructure amounted to a war crime and crime against humanity. [516] [h] UN Human Rights chief Volker TĆ¼rk stated Israel's collective punishment and forcible evacuation of Gazans were both war crimes. [518]
A group of UN experts warned of "a genocide in the making" in Gaza. [519] Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN special rapporteur on water and sanitation, stated that under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, cutting off basic supplies, such as water, was a crime against humanity. [520] Martin Griffiths stated the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was intolerable and that "international humanitarian law appears to have been turned on its head". [521] Philippe Lazzarini called Israel's killing of United Nations workers a "blatant disregard of international humanitarian law". [522] The United Nations special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions and torture signed a joint statement urging a war crimes investigation. [523] The OHCHR stated it had "serious concerns" about Israel's compliance with international law. [524] Tlaleng Mofokeng, the special rapporteur on health, stated Israel had violated special medical protections in an "unrelenting war" on health. [525] Speaking about Israel's planned Rafah offensive, the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres stated, "International humanitarian law lies in tatters". [526] A week later, Guterres condemned Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid, stating, "Nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people". [527]
The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office opened an investigation into Israeli violations of international humanitarian law. [528] Court documents cited by Amnesty International indicated the UK office was unable to determine if Israel was in compliance with international law, but concluded there were "serious concerns" about legal breaches. [529] In February 2024, the U.S. State Department announced it was investigating the 31 October 2023 Jabalia refugee camp airstrike and Israel's possible use of white phosphorus in Lebanon. [530] Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, stated she was investigating torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees by the Israeli army. [531]
Following the release of footage showing airstrikes killing five Palestinian men walking along a dirt road in Gaza, the IDF announced the incident was being investigated by its "fact finding" body for potential crimes by its forces. [532] A US State Department official said, "Israel has an obligation to investigate credible allegations of law of war violations". [533] In April 2024, the U.S. Secretary of State denied it had "double-standards" regarding Israel, stating the U.S. was "looking at" alleged violations of international humanitarian law. [534]
On 9 November, three Palestinian civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Israel with the International Criminal Court. [535] The groups charged Israel with war crimes, apartheid, and genocide, calling for the ICC to issue arrest warrants for top Israeli officials. [536] On 10 November, President Gustavo Petro announced Colombia was cosponsoring an Algerian ICC suit charging Israel with war crimes. [537] On 14 November, Human Rights Watch called on the ICC to investigate Israeli attacks on hospitals and ambulances. [538] A group of lawyers representing victims of Israeli attacks filed a suit in the ICC, charging Israel with genocide. [539] South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor called on the ICC to speed up its investigation of Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, and stated warrants of arrest should be issued for Benjamin Netanyahu. [540] On 16 November, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa stated South Africa had referred Israel to the ICC for war crimes. [541] On 17 November, Karim Ahmad Khan stated the ICC had received a joint request by South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti to investigate alleged Israeli war crimes. [542] On 28 November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated Israeli officials should stand trial in international courts for war crimes. [543] On 20 December, Democracy for the Arab World Now provided the ICC prosecutor with a list of 40 Israeli commanding officers to be charged with war crimes. [544]
On 22 December, Reporters Without Borders filed an ICC complaint against Israel for "probable war crimes". [545] On 6 January, a group of 100 Chilean lawyers filed a complaint at the ICC accusing Netanyahu of committing war crimes. [546] On 18 January, the foreign ministries of Mexico and Chile referred Israel to the ICC for potential war crimes. [547] [548] [i]
South Africa has instituted proceedings at the International Court of Justice pursuant to the Genocide Convention, to which both Israel and South Africa are signatories, accusing Israel of committing genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza. [549] [550] [551] South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa compared Israel's actions to apartheid. [552] South Africa's application was brought pursuant to Article IX of the convention. [550] Several human rights organizations, international organisations, and other nations [j] [k] have supported South Africa in their suit. [606] [607] [608]
In an 84-page application filed on 29 December 2023, South Africa alleged that Israel's actions "are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group." [550] [609] South Africa requested that the ICJ issue a binding legal order on an interim basis (i.e., prior to a hearing on the merits of the application), requiring Israel to "immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza." [550] [609] While adjudication of the merits of the case may take years, such an order could be issued within weeks. [551] The South African ambassador to the Netherlands, in a statement to the ICJ during the proceedings, argued how the 2023 assault on Gaza is not an individual event but the escalation of "Israelās twenty-five-year apartheid, fifty-six-year occupation, and sixteen-year siege imposed on the Gaza strip." [610]
Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, notes that the ICJ case is not a prosecution of individuals, and does not involve the International Criminal Court, which is a separate body. [551] Jarrah stated that the case presents an opportunity to "provide clear, definitive answers on the question of whether Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people." [551]
On 6 March 2024 South Africa asked the ICJ to order additional measures against Israel, due to Gazans facing mass starvation. [611]On 13 November 2023, the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) sued Joe Biden for allegedly failing in his duties, defined under national and international laws, to prevent Israel committing genocide in Gaza. [612] The complaint, filed on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza and the US, alleged that Israel's "mass killings", targeting of civilian infrastructure and forced expulsions amounted to genocide. [612] [613] The CCR said that the US and other countries had a duty to do all they could to stop the killing. "As Israel's closest ally and strongest supporter, being its biggest provider of military assistance by a large margin and with Israel being the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance since World War II, the United States has the means available to have a deterrent effect on Israeli officials now pursuing genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza," the complaint argued. [612]
The suit, filed in federal court in California, asked the court to bar the US from providing weapons, money and diplomatic support to Israel. [612] It also sought a declaration that the president, the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, were required "to take all measures within their power to prevent Israel's commission of genocidal acts against the Palestinian people of Gaza." Genocide scholar William Schabas said in a declaration in the lawsuit that in his view there was a "serious risk of genocide" and that the US was "in breach of its obligation" under the 1948 Genocide Convention and international law. [613] [614]
On 31 January 2024, the case was dismissed. The judge said that the US Constitution limited his actions, that he would have preferred to have issued the injunction and urged President Biden to rethink U.S. policy, writing "it is plausible that Israel's conduct amounts to genocide." [615]
Hague lawsuit
On 4 December 2023, Human rights organisations Oxfam Novib, PAX Nederland, and The Rights Forum had taken the Dutch State to court to stop the export of parts for F-35 fighter jets arguing that they contribute to violations of international law in Gaza. Oxfam argued that the export "made the Netherlands complicit in violations of the laws of war and the collective punishment of the civilian population of Gaza". [616] On 15 December 2023, The Hague ruled that the state could keep exporting arms to Israel. [617] On 12 February 2024, the court of appeal in The Hague ruled that "There is a clear risk that Israel's F-35 fighter jets might be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law." The judges wrote, "Israel does not take sufficient account of the consequences of its attacks for the civilian population. Israel's attacks on Gaza have resulted in a disproportionate number of civilian casualties, including thousands of children" and that, " The Netherlands is a party to several international regulations which stipulate that if a clear risk of serious violations of international humanitarian law exists, the Netherlands has the obligation to prevent the export of military equipment." The court ordered that deliveries must stop within seven days. [618]
On 6 December 2023, Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq and UK-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) have commenced legal proceedings against the UK after written requests to suspend arms sales to Israel, citing alleged breaches of international law and UK rules, were repeatedly ignored. The filed papers detail allegations of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, starvation, forced displacement, and the serious risk of genocide, including statements from members of the Knesset and military leaders. The action is supported by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and a press briefing was held with GLAN, Al-Haq and ICJP and with Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and a member from Oxfam. [619] [620]
On 5 December 2023, Palestinian human rights groups, Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) have launched legal action in the Federal Court of Australia. The human rights groups seek access to all permits allowing the export of arms and weapons to Israel that have been granted by the Minister for Defence since 7 October 2023. The application is supported by the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ). [621] [622]
On 5 March 2023, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLIHR), Al-Haq and a group of Palestinian-Canadians, have sued the Global Affairs Ministry for exporting military goods and technology to Israel during the Gaza conflict. They argue that the exports could be used in alleged human rights violations against Palestinians. The legal action accuses Canada's Foreign Minister MĆ©lanie Joly of authorising the export of military goods and technology to Israel, amounting to at least at least C$28.5m ($21m), that could be used to commit violations of international law. [623]
In the West, Hamas has long been considered to harbor aspirations of genocide against Israel and its Jewish population, as an interpretation of their 1988 charter referenced a hadith (saying attributed to Muhammad) that in the End Times, Jews will follow the false Messiah, after which Muslims will kill and be victorious over Jews. [624] [625] [626] [627] [628] Legal and genocide experts condemned the attack as a severe violation of international law, asserting that Hamas executed these acts with the intent to destroy the Israeli national group. [629] [630] [631] [632] Over 100 international scholars describing the actions as likely meeting the definition of genocide, saying "As these widespread, horrendous acts appear to have been carried out with an 'intent to destroy, in whole or in part' a national group ā Israelis ā a goal explicitly declared by Hamas, they most probably constitute an international crime of genocide, proscribed by the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court". [633]
Other groups, including Genocide Watch, have supported these allegations, saying "Hamas targeted Israelis simply because they were Israelis. It was the deadliest recorded massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have expressed their genocidal intent to destroy the nation of Israel. The massacres by Hamas constituted acts of genocide." [634]
Some commentators have pointed toward Hamas' founding charter, which contains anti-Semitic language, advocates for the destruction of Israel, and, according to some of the researchers, implies a call for the genocide of Jews. This has led to suggestions that the October 7 attacks were an effort to fulfill this agenda. [635] [636] [637] [638]
On 17 October, 10 days after the start of the war, 880 scholars of international law and genocide signed a public statement saying: "As scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies, and genocide studies, we are compelled to sound the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip." [639] The statement called on UN bodies, including the UN Office on Genocide Prevention, as well as the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to "immediately intervene, to carry out the necessary investigations, and invoke the necessary warning procedures to protect the Palestinian population from genocide". [639]
On 19 October 2023, amid the 2023 HamasāIsrael war, 100 civil society organizations and six genocide scholars sent a letter to Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, calling on him to issue arrest warrants to Israeli officials for cases already before the prosecutor; to investigate the new crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, including incitement to genocide, since 7 October; to issue a preventive statement against war crimes; and to remind all states of their obligations under international law. [640] The letter noted that Israeli officials, in their statements, had indicated "clear intent to commit war crimes, crimes against humanity and incitement to commit genocide, using dehumanizing language to describe Palestinians". The six specialist genocide scholars that signed the document were Raz Segal, Barry Trachtenberg, Robert McNeil, Damien Short, Taner AkƧam and Victoria Sanford. [640] The same day, lawyers at the Center for Constitutional Rights stated that Israel's tactics were "calculated to destroy the Palestinian population in Gaza", and warned the Biden administration that āU.S. officials can be held responsible for their failure to prevent Israelās unfolding genocide, as well as for their complicity, by encouraging it and materially supporting it." [641] On 13 December, FIDH, the world's third-oldest human rights organization, stated Israel's actions in Gaza constituted an unfolding genocide. [642]
On 28 October Craig Mokhiber stepped down as the director of the New York office of the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights over the organization's response to the war in Gaza. In his resignation letter, he described Israel's military conduct, and broader actions toward Palestinians, as "a textbook case of genocide". [643] [644] [645]
In response to Israel destroying Gaza's universities, Muhannad Ayyash, a professor of sociology at Mount Royal University, charged Israel with epistemicide. [646] [647] Ayyash stated Israel sought to "erase Palestinian existence from history, and that includes a targeting of Palestinians as a cultural group, as a group of people that produce knowledge". [646] Steven Thrasher, an American academic, wrote that Israel was also destroying the "possibility of building new knowledge and political realities". [648] On 6 December 2023, Israel destroyed the municipal archives of Gaza City, leading Birzeit University to state Israel was "deliberately razing all forms of life." [649] Israel bombed more than 200 of Gaza's most important cultural heritage sites, [650] including the Church of Saint Porphyrius and the Great Omari Mosque. [651] [652] French historian Jean-Pierre Filiu stated Israel was destroying a 4,000 year-old culture in Gaza, stating, "the memory of humanity is being erased before our eyes". [653]
Israel was further accused of scholasticide, or "intentional destruction of cultural heritage". [654] Birzeit University condemned Israel in January 2024, after the IDF bombed Israa University, stating Israel had stolen 3,000 rare artifacts and calling it "a continuation of the genocide being carried out in Gaza Strip." [655] [l] The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education called the bombing a "clear violation of all international laws". [657] The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the artifact theft part of Israel's "ongoing genocide" and a "war crime of cultural theft". [658] On 25 February 2024, the director of literature in the Palestinian Ministry of Culture accused Israel of committing cultural genocide in Gaza, stating it was "destroying cultural life and creativity" and thus "erasing Palestinian identity". [659]
Israel was also charged with committing ecocide. [660] The Environment Quality Authority stated Israel had destroyed "all components of biological diversity, including plants and microorganisms." [661] The Century Foundation stated Gaza's "environmental resources are being poisoned, depleted, or otherwise destroyed, and may take generations to recover." [662] An analysis by The Guardian found that 38-48% of tree cover and farmland had been destroyed since 7 October. [663]
On 29 December 2023, South Africa filed the case South Africa v. Israel (Genocide Convention) against Israel at the International Court of Justice, alleging that Israel "is committing genocide in manifest violation of the Genocide Convention". [664] [665] [666] South Africa asked the ICJ to issue provisional measures, including ordering Israel to halt its military campaign in Gaza. [665]
In February 2024, Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, accused Israel of genocide, war crimes, and using starvation as a weapon. He stated, "Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian. In my view as a UN human rights expert, this is now a situation of genocide. This means the state of Israel in its entirety is culpable and should be held accountable ā not just individuals or this government or that person." [667]
On 26 March, 2024, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council that found Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. [668] [669] [670] In her statement presenting the report, she said "there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide against Palestinians as a group in Gaza has been met. Specifically, Israel has committed three acts of genocide with the requisite intent: causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent birth within the group." [669]Security footage shows the two gunmen ambushing a Mazda and firing multiple shots into the vehicle. The bullet-ridden car rolls forward, the gate opens, and the men enter the kibbutz.
{{
cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
{{
cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
Collective punishment was outlawed in 1949 by the Geneva Convention.
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
{{
cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)Slovenia supports the proceedings regarding the violation of the Genocide Convention, both in the case of Ukraine and Palestine.
Fajon hopes the court will call on Israel at an early stage of procedure to end the military operation because it could take several years for a final decision to be reached on the genocide accusation.
Hadif is a statement of Prophet Mohammed. This is a book that start for ninth graders. This is talking about the victory of Muslims over Jews. This is a hadif that I truly believe it's not true, as a Muslim: "The day of judgment will not arrive until Muslims fight Jews, and Muslim will kill Jews until the Jew hides behind a tree or a stone. Then the tree and the stone will say, 'Oh Muslim, oh, servant of God, this is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him.' Except one type of a tree, which is a Jew tree. That will not say that."
The governing charter of Hamas, "The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement," openly dedicates Hamas to genocide against the Jewish people.
The Hamas Charter not only calls for the militant, perhaps genocidal, liberation of Palestine (e.g., "raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine"), but also demonstrates anti-Semitic, murderous intent.
For Jews, the Holocaust remains a real concern in an age when Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization, continues to advocate genocide in its core Charter.