Israeli war crimes in the Israel–Hamas war
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Since the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war in 2023, the Israeli military and authorities have been charged with committing war crimes, such as indiscriminate attacks on civilians in densely populated areas (including bombings of hospitals and medical facilities, refugee camps, schools and educational institutions, and municipal services); genocide; forced evacuations; the torture and executions of civilians; sexual violence; destruction of cultural heritage; collective punishment; and the mistreatment and torture of Palestinian prisoners. Humanitarian organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B'tselem, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, the UN Human Rights Council, and human rights groups and experts, including United Nations special rapporteurs, have documented these actions.[1]
Israel has faced legal charges for its conduct in the war. At the International Court of Justice, Israel was charged with committing genocide in Gaza.[2][3] In May 2024, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) stated that he was seeking arrest warrants against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including using starvation as a weapon of war.[4]
While Israel has faced international condemnation for its alleged war crimes, it has also maintained continued support from the United States.[5] In October 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated the Biden administration had no red lines for Israeli actions.[6][7] As Israel's largest supplier of military support, the U.S. has been accused of complicity in Israel's war crimes.[8]
Israel's adherence to the principles of discrimination and proportionality as required by the laws of war has been questioned.[9][10] Human Rights Watch has stated that the overall civilian death toll, and Israel's use of powerful weapons in Gaza's densely-populated neighbourhoods, raised "serious questions" about the legality of Israel's conduct.[10] Human Rights Watch further argued that a higher proportion of casualties among women and children is indicative of a lack of proportionality, demonstrating what they describe as "a disregard toward Palestinian lives".[10] Amnesty International accused Israel of war crimes in a report where it analyzed five incidents between 7 and 12 October where the IDF targeted residential areas in Gaza. It found that in several cases the IDF struck targets with no evidence of military activity and that these attacks were "indiscriminate" in nature. Anonymous IDF officials cited in a report by +972 Magazine indicated a "loosening of constraints" in the rules of engagement, and that in numerous cases the IDF struck targets despite no evidence of military activity. The report claims that the rationale behind such attacks was "to harm Palestinian civil society" and, according to one source cited by the report, to "lead civilians to put pressure on Hamas".[11]
Experts cited by The Washington Post argue that certain Israeli airstrikes show that Israel has a tolerance for civilian casualties "orders of magnitude greater" than that of the US in its war against ISIS.[12] United Nations officials and human rights groups have argued that Israel has not done enough to protect civilians.[10] In March 2024, the United Nations said that more children were killed in Gaza in four months than in four years of worldwide wars.[13] Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, declared: "This war is a war on children".[13]
Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, an associate fellow at Chatham House, argued that, given the size and nature of the 7 October attacks, Israel has a right of self-defence that could include its stated military aim of destroying Hamas, which has threatened to repeat its assault and eradicate the state of Israel.[10] According to The Economist, the law of armed conflict (LOAC) and international humanitarian law (IHL) grant Israel flexibility when it comes to taking military action against Hamas, but in its view, Israel's "definition of military targets is being stretched to breaking-point".[9]
Amichai Cohen, an Israeli lawyer, alleges that Israel does not deliberately target civilians but that Hamas's tactics make it hard to take action without affecting civilians.[9] Jill Goldenziel, a professor at the United States National Defense University and Marine Corps University, states that if Israel conducted every strike legally and with utmost precision, civilian casualties in war would remain, and the goal of a proportionality analysis is to decide whether they are excessive.[14] Israeli security officials state that their proportionality criteria in this conflict are unchanged and that they receive legal advice in relation to strikes.[10] Other Israeli officials, speaking anonymously, acknowledged that Israel has struck "private residences and public structures, like the Gaza Parliament and the Islamic University", which would not previously have been considered valuable enough to justify the risk to civilian life.[10]
In April 2024, Human Rights Watch found that Israel violated international law by launching an airstrike on an apartment building in Gaza, killing 106 people, including 54 children, as there were no viable military targets in the area.[15] In June 2024, the UN Human Rights Office described possible violations of the rules of proportionality and distinction during the Nuseirat refugee camp massacre.[16] Later the same month, the UN Human Rights Office released a report on six Israeli attacks in which the IDF may have "systematically violated the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack".[17] Following the Al-Tabaeen school attack, Tariq Kenney-Shawa, a policy fellow at Al-Shabaka suggested the attack violated the laws of proportionality.[18] In response to an Israeli social media campaign that stated "there are no innocent civilians" in Gaza, Mark Kersten, a professor at University of the Fraser Valley, stated, "It is exactly what atrocity perpetrators say".[19] In June 2024, a UN Commission of Inquiry found the scale of Israel's killing of Palestinians constituted a crime against humanity.[20] By August 2024, reported data from Gaza indicated the war was one of the deadliest of the twenty-first century.[21] Pope Francis suggested Israel's attacks on Lebanon and Gaza were disproportionate.[22]
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 people.[23][24] The strikes hit specifically protected locations, including hospitals, markets, refugee camps, mosques, educational facilities, and entire neighbourhoods.[25] 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".[26]
During two airstrikes on 10 and 22 October 2023, the IDF used Joint Direct Attack Munitions in attacks described by Amnesty International as "either direct attacks on civilians" or "indiscriminate attacks".[27][28] On 24 October, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, after stating Israel had committed "clear violations" of international humanitarian law.[29] On 13 November 2023, 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."[30] 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.[31]
In February 2024, the IDF bombed and destroyed the Belgium government's Gaza development office.[32] In response, Belgium summoned the Israeli ambassador and condemned the "destruction of civilian infrastructure" as a violation of international law.[33][lower-alpha 1] On 6 February, the UN stated an Israeli assault on Rafah could lead to war crimes.[35]
On 22 March 2024, Al Jazeera released a video retrieved from an Israeli drone showing four unarmed Palestinians in Khan Younis who were brutally killed by Israeli air attacks. Two were killed instantly, and the others were killed while trying to stumble and crawl away.[36] Al-Jazeera reported that “it is clear from the pictures that these Palestinians were unarmed and posed no threat to anything or anyone”.[37] This footage was described by the UN's special rapporteur Francesca Albanese as a part of the “colossal amount of evidence” 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.[38]
Amnesty International called Israel's indiscriminate attacks illegal and a violation of international law. Secretary General of Amnesty International Agnès 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.[39] 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.[40]
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.[41] In May 2024, Amnesty International called for war crimes investigations into three Israeli airstrikes that had killed 44 civilians.[42] The same month, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen stated "ICJ orders and international humanitarian law must be respected" following the Al-Mawasi refugee camp attack.[43] In June 2024, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini termed the destruction of UNRWA's Gaza headquarters as "blatant disregard of international humanitarian law".[44] In June 2024, Doctors Without Borders suggested Israel was violating international humanitarian law, stating, "We can no longer accept the statement that Israel is taking 'all precautions'".[45] The European Union warned Israel in August 2024 that "targeting critical life-saving infrastructure constitutes a war crime".[46] The IDF suspected a breach of international law following an Army Commanders' order to destroy a water reservoir in Rafah.[47][lower-alpha 2]
On 9 October 2023, the IDF carried out a mass-casualty airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp market.[49] The attack resulted in the deaths of over sixty civilians and extensive damage to the market.[49] 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.[50] 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.[51] 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."[52]
On the same day, the IDF carried out an airstrike on the densely populated Al-Shati refugee camp.[53] 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.[54] The airstrikes in the Al-Shati camp were described as a "massacre against an entire neighborhood" by the Ministry of Health.[55][56]
On 24 December 2023, 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".[57] Israel later determined that incorrect munitions were used in the attack and expressed regret that non-combatants were harmed.[58]
On 17 October 2023, 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".[59][60] The UN accused Israel of lethally bombing three UN shelters on 2 November 2023.[61] On 27 December 2023, the UN stated Israel had killed 142 UN employees in Gaza thus far.[62] 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.[63]
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.[64][65][66] Israel denied bombing the facility.[67][lower-alpha 3] 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".[69] 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".[70]
In June 2024, the Foreign Ministry of Jordan condemned the Al-Sardi school attack, stating, "These actions and crimes… contradict all human and moral values and represent war crimes against the international community as a whole."[71] In response to the Al-Sardi school attack, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini stated that attacking UN buildings showed a "blatant disregard of international humanitarian law".[72] Following the Al-Tabaeen school attack in August 2024, the foreign ministry of Jordan called it a "a flagrant violation of international law and of all humanitarian values," while the government of Turkey stated it was a "crime against humanity".[73][74] In September 2024, an Israeli airstrike killed six UN employees at a shelter for displaced people, leading UN secretary general Antonio Guterres to call it a "dramatic violation" of international humanitarian law.[75]
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",[76] NYT found that Israel had dropped 2,000-pound bombs in those areas,[77] while CNN stated it had verified at least three locations Israel bombed after telling civilians it was safe to go there.[78] An NBC news investigation found Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in seven areas that the military had designated as safe zones.[79]
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".[80] 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.[81] Hundreds of Christians and Muslims were sheltering in the church and the strike killed 16 people.[82] The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned it as "a war crime that cannot be ignored".[83] Following an investigation, Amnesty International stated the church strike was indiscriminate and should be investigated as a war crime.[84]
On 16 December 2023, 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."[85] Pope Francis described the Israeli attack on the church as terrorism.[86]
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". Balakrishnan Rajagopal stated Israeli strikes had destroyed or damaged 45% of homes in the Palestinian territory, causing "enormous cost in human lives". The UN Special Rapporteur stated targeting of residential areas is strictly prohibited under international law. He further 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.[87]
A +972 Magazine investigation found the IDF had expanded authorization for bombing non-military targets.[11] 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".[88]
On 5 November, 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.[89] Human Rights Watch stated that their killings should be investigated as an apparent war crime.[90] 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.[89] 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".[91] The UN Human Rights Office said the attack "violated the prohibition on the use of armed force against another state".[92]
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.[93][94] By March 2024, at least 165 United Nations staff had been killed in Gaza since 7 October and more than 150 facilities attacked.[95]
Following the death of one of their aid workers — the fifth American aid worker killed in Gaza — the American Near East Refugee Aid released a statement: "We demand an independent investigation into his death, which threatens our team’s ability to function safely and deliver aid to civilians facing starvation".[96] In March 2024, Israel bombed a United Nations food distribution center, killing one UN staff member and wounding 22 others.[97][lower-alpha 4] 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".[99][100]
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.[101][102] In April 2024, Belgium recalled its ambassador to Israel after an Enabel aid worker and his son were killed by an Israel airstrike, with Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib stating, "Bombing civilian areas and populations is contrary to international law."[103] A report by the Quincy Institute found fourteen incidents where Israel attacked humanitarian aid workers, despite being identified as civilians.[104]
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.[105] Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra de Sutter stated the massacre was a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law".[106] Josep Borrell stated it was a serious violation of international humanitarian law.[107] The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the attack a crime against humanity.[108] The Omani Foreign Ministry called the attack a violation of international law.[109] Amnesty International announced it was launching an investigation.[110] 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".[111]
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.[112] According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the strikes brought the total number of aid workers killed since 7 October to 196 people.[113] The president of Refugees International called the killings "part of a clear pattern" and a war crime.[114] Doctors Without Borders stated the killings were an example of how "international humanitarian law is not respected".[115] The Polish Foreign Ministry stated, "Poland objects to the disregard for international humanitarian law".[116] The Cyprus Foreign Ministry stated, "[International humanitarian law] principles are absolute: humanitarian aid workers must always be respected and protected."[117] Ben Saul, a UN special rapporteur, stated, "It could well be a violation of international humanitarian law".[118] Jose Andres, the founder of World Central Kitchen, stated Israel needed "to stop this indiscriminate killing."[119]
OHCHR stated on 20 December it had received allegations of Israeli soldiers summarily killing at least eleven unarmed men in Rimal.[120] 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.[121] 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."[122] 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."[123] 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.[124][125][126] 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.[127][128] The Israeli military stated they would begin a probe into the incident.[129]
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.[130] Israeli soldiers gave testimony to +972 Magazine stating soldiers were given authorization to shoot Palestinian civilians at will.[131] Dr. Mark Perlmutter, an American doctor working in Gaza, stated Israeli snipers were targeting children, stating, "No toddler gets shot twice by mistake by the 'world's best sniper.' And they're dead-center shots."[132] In a letter addressed to Joe Biden, a group of U.S. doctors and nurses returning from Gaza stated, "Every one of us on a daily basis treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head and chest".[133]
In October 2024, The New York Times reported compiled testimony from 44 doctors, nurses, and paramedics who treated multiple cases of preteen children with gunshot wounds to the head or chest in Gaza. Inquiries sent to the IDF regarding the experiences of these health care workers received a statement from a spokesperson that did not directly confirm whether investigations into the shootings of preteen children had been conducted or if any soldiers faced disciplinary action for firing at them.[134]
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.[135][136] Reportedly, bodies were found with their hands and feet tied.[137] Following the discovery of the mass graves, UN human rights chief Volker Türk called for an independent investigation on the intentional killing of civilians by the IDF and stated the "intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime."[138][139] 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".[140] William Schabas, a Canadian expert on international human rights law, stated mass graves have "always been an indication that war crimes have been committed".[141]
Following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the Iraqi foreign ministry stated the killing was a "flagrant violation of international law and a threat to security and stability in the region".[142]
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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.[143][144][145][146][147]
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.[148] BBC has verified 74 cases where religious sites were damaged or destroyed, of which 72 were mosques and two were churches.[149] In October 2024 the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Gaza stated that 814 mosques and three churches were destroyed since the war started and a further 148 mosques damaged with the repair costs of over 350 million dollars.[150]
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.".[151]
Some notable places that Israel destroyed or damaged are:[146][152]
| Name | Type | Dated to | Damage | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmed Yassin mosque Al-Shati, Gaza City | mosque | destroyed | 9 October 2023[153] | |
| Al Amin Muhammad Mosque, Khan Yunis | mosque | destroyed | 20 October 2023[154] | |
| 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[144] | cultural | 1999 | destroyed | |
| Al-Gharbi mosque, Gaza City | mosque | destroyed | 9 October 2023[153] | |
| Great Omari Mosque | cultural/mosque | 1277 | destroyed | 8 December 2023 |
| Holy Family Church | church | 1974 | Damaged | 4 November 2023 |
| Jabalia Byzantine Church | church | 444 CE | destroyed | Oct. 2023 |
| Jaffa Mosque in Deir al-Balah | mosque | Destroyed | Dec. 2023[155][156] | |
| Al-Mathaf al-Funduq museum | cultural | 2008 | destroyed | 3 November 2023 |
| Othman bin Qashqar mosque | mosque | 1220 | damaged | 7 December 2023 |
| Qalaat Barquq[143] 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 | 11 December 2023 |
| Rashad El Shawa Cultural Center | cultural | 1988 | destroyed | unknown date |
| Al-Sammara Hamam | historic | pre-Islam | destroyed | 8 December 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 | 18 October 2023 |
| Tell el-Ajjul fortified city | historic | 2000–1800 BCE | Damaged | unknown date |
Israel has damaged or destroyed at least sixteen cemeteries across the Gaza Strip,[157] 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.[158][159] In October 2024 the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Gaza stated that 19 cemeteries were destroyed since the start of the war, the ministry also stated that the IDF was guilty of desecrating graves, exhuming bodies and committing acts of violence against those who died, such as stealing their remains and mutilating them.[160]
On 21 December, bulldozers destroyed a cemetery in the Al-Saha neighborhood in eastern Gaza.[161][162] On 6 January 2024, Palestinians in Tuffah reburied bodies after the Israeli army reportedly exhumed them and smashed their graves.[163] Gazans in Khan Younis reported the Israeli army raided a cemetery and took corpses.[164][165] The Khan Younis cemetery was reportedly bulldozed over, tombstones crushed, and human remains were visible.[166] 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."[157] 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.[167] 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.[168]
On 3 of October 2024, the Israeli air force bombed a cemetery in Lebanon's Bashoura neighbourhood, destroying it.[169]
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.
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.[171][172] Israel's president Isaac Herzog accused the residents of Gaza of collective responsibility for the war.[173][lower-alpha 5][175] 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.[176][177]
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.[178] On 18 October, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated Hamas' attacks "cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."[179] On 24 October, Human Rights Watch criticized Israel's refusal to allow fuel or water into a Gaza, terming it a war crime.[180] On 29 October, Karim Ahmad Khan stated Israel's impeding aid to Gaza may constitute a crime under the International Criminal Court.[181] On 7 December, Khan again stated "wilfully impeding relief supplies" may constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute.[182] 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."[183] 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.[184][185]
On 31 January 2024, Haaretz reported that Israeli army commanders were ordering troops to burn down and destroy unoccupied buildings in Gaza.[186] According to Human Rights Watch: "Unlawful and wanton excessive destruction of property that is not militarily justified, is also a war crime."[187] 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".[188] The Irish foreign minister Micheál Martin called Israel's actions "fully disproportionate and... a breach of humanitarian law in terms of the destruction of Gaza".[189]
As part of Israel's blockade on Gaza, water supplies from Israel were cut off.[190][191] Article 51 of the Berlin Rules on Water Resources bars combatants from removing water or water infrastructure to cause death or force its movement.[192] The EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell called Israel's cutting off water, electricity and food as "not in accordance with international law".[193] On 14 October, the UNRWA announced Gaza no longer had clean drinking water, and two million people were at risk of death from dehydration.[194] On 15 October, Israel announced it had resumed supplying water to a single location in southern Gaza to "encourage" movement.[195][196] Aid workers in Gaza refuted water was available.[197] By 16 October, civilians drank seawater and water contaminated with sewage to survive.[198] In July 2024, Oxfam published a report titled Water War Crimes in which it started that Israel was "systematically weaponizing water against Palestinians" in violation of international law.[199]
Israel imposed a "complete siege" on Gaza in the first ten days of the war, due to alleged security concerns that weapons, fuel, and armaments would be transferred to Hamas in the guise of humanitarian aid.[200][201] Israel later allowed the delivery of limited humanitarian aid following security checks.[202] Israel's restriction of the flow of food, fuel, water, and other humanitarian aid was criticized as a war crime by human rights organizations and termed a "targeted starvation campaign" by United Nations rights experts.[203][204]
Tom Dannenbaum, co-director of the Center for International Law & Governance at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, wrote that the order "commands the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, which is a violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime".[205] Oxfam issued a statement that accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, saying "International Humanitarian Law (IHL) strictly prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare and as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is bound by IHL obligations to provide for the needs and protection of the population of Gaza".[206]
Geoffrey S. Corn, Chair of Criminal Law and Director of the Center for Military Law and Policy at Texas Tech University School of Law, and Sean Watts, professor in the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy at West Point, write that sieges are subject to the same laws of war as other military tactics such as distinction and proportionality.[207] Watts previously wrote that Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention "requires that parties to a conflict allow passage of a limited class of relief supplies for civilians...only if the parties are satisfied no advantage will result 'to the military efforts or economy of the enemy'", but that if the law is interpreted to allow "incidental" starvation of civilians proportional to anticipated military advantage, it "reduces the rule's humanitarian effect, perhaps to the vanishing point".[208]
In March 2024, the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, stated Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war.[209] Similarly, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stated, "The extent of Israel’s 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".[210]
Human Rights Watch stated Israel was committing a war crime by using starvation as a method of warfare.[211] Alex de Waal stated it was the worst man-made famine in 75 years.[212] Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former chief prosecutor for the ICC, stated, "Stopping aid in particular to destroy civilian life – with intention to destroy a historical community – is genocide."[213] In April 2024, the United Nations human rights office stated Israel was placing "unlawful restrictions" on humanitarian aid.[214]
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.[215] Israeli snipers reportedly targeted people waiting for humanitarian aid.[216]
The ICJ ruled as part of the interim measures that Israel facilitate the flow of aid and lessen humanitarian suffering in Gaza.[217] In its March 2024 interim ruling, the ICJ stated, "The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine (...) but that famine is setting in."[218]
Aid groups complain about the level of aid, blaming harsh war conditions, strict inspections and limits on the number of crossing points while Israel says that the restrictions are necessary to ensure that weapons and supplies do not fall into the hands of Hamas.[219] Three reports, a leaked internal State Department memorandum, an internal assessment by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the report of the Independent Task Force on the Application of National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel, confirm that Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid has triggered the legal requirement to halt military aid.[220] A report from Refugees International revealed that Israeli authorities have "erected unnecessary hurdles, complicated logistical processes, and an unpredictable vetting system, rendering the inspection regime overwhelmingly burdensome with layers of bureaucracy and inspection and limited working hours".[217] Israeli professor Neve Gordon wrote of Israel’s history of restricting food access in the Gaza Strip "controlling and managing the population through food insecurity."[221] The UN and Human Rights Watch said the Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the Gaza Strip, a war crime.[222][223]
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.[224][225] These attacks have been carried out in a manner that aid groups and international bodies are increasingly referring to as systematic.[226] According to Gaza officials, the IDF deliberately targeted ambulances and health facilities with airstrikes.[227][228] In a statement, the Palestine Red Crescent demanded "accountability for this war crime".[229] The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, UNRWA, and Medecins Sans Frontieres reported the deaths of their medical personnel.[230][231] 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.[232][233] On 17 October, WHO stated 51 health facilities had been attacked by Israel.[234][235] On 4 November, the Gaza Health Ministry stated 105 medical facilities had been deliberately targeted.[236]
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.[237] 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.[238] 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.[239]
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.[240] 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.[241] In response, Yanis Varoufakis noted, "Even if the ambulance was carrying a Hamas overlord, bombing it violates the Geneva Convention."[242] UN chief António Guterres stated he was "horrified" by the attack.[243] In prior weeks, Israel had released an animated video stating Al-Shifa hospital contained a hidden, top-secret underground military center.[244] This was flatly denied, with Hamas stating Israel was using "prefabricated" evidence to pre-empt a military strike on a hospital.[245] Laws of war provide limited protections to medical facilities used in such capacities.[246] HRW stated the strikes were apparently unlawful and should be investigated as a possible war crime.[247]
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.[248] Doctors in Al-Shifa Hospital reported snipers at the outskirts of the complex were firing at "any moving person".[249] 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".[250] In response to the Al-Shifa Hospital siege, Human Rights Watch stated Israel's actions against hospitals need to be investigated as war crimes.[251] Jennifer Cassidy, a legal expert at University of Oxford, stated Israel's siege on al-Shifa was a war crime "plain and simple".[252] Following an Israeli attack on Indonesia Hospital, the Indonesian Foreign Minister called it a clear violation of international humanitarian law.[253]
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On 18 November 2023, two people were killed while traveling in a clearly identified Doctors Without Borders evacuation convoy in Gaza City.[254] Doctors Without Borders termed it a "deliberate attack."[255] On 16 December, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called for an international investigation into Israeli war crimes at the Kamal Adwan Hospital.[256] On 17 January 2024, Israeli fire damaged the Jordanian field hospital, leading the Jordanian army to call it a "flagrant breach of international law".[257] On 19 January, Jordan stated Israel had "deliberately" targeted the hospital.[258] 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".[259] On 31 January, Doctors Without Borders stated Israel had conducted "systematic attacks on health facilities" which they stated was unprecedented for their organization.[260]
On 8 February 2024, the Palestinian Red Crescent accused the IDF of deliberately killing one of their paramedics.[261] 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.[262][263] 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."[264] In May 2024, the Palestinian Red Crescent stated an Israeli attack on their ambulances near Rafah was a war crime.[265] Following the attack, WHO stated, "Health workers are protected under international humanitarian law".[266] In June 2024, the UN Human Rights Office discussed the killing of health workers in Gaza, stating, "These killings have occurred against the backdrop of systematic attacks on hospitals and other medical facilities in violation of the laws of war".[267] In July 2024, the government of Turkey stated that images showing Israel using the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital as a military base indicated violations of international humanitarian law and threatened to take Israel to court.[268]
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.[269] However, the IDF has not presented hard evidence to support their claims.[270] Israel also does not have the power to unilaterally decide if a hospital has lost protected status.[270] 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.[271] The burden of proof also lays with the Israelis.[272] 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."[272] A hospital attack is also still illegal under international law if it harms civilians disproportionately to the military objective.[272]
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."[273] Human Rights Watch stated, "The Israeli government has put forward no evidence that would justify stripping hospitals of their special protections."[274][275][276] 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."[277]
On 1 November 2023, Reporters Without Borders asked the International Criminal Court to begin a priority war crimes investigation into the killing of nine journalists.[278] 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.[279]
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".[280] 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.[281] 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".[282]
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".[283] 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".[284] The director of the International Press Institute stated, "We see journalists clearly targeted… 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".[285]
Following the Israeli killing of Samer Abu Daqqa, Al Jazeera stated it was referring the incident to the International Criminal Court.[286] In June 2024, an journalistic investigation into Israel's killing of journalists suggested that some of the killings were deliberate.[287] The investigation further found that Israeli tanks were likely responsible for an attack on the Agence France Press building in Gaza, described by investigators as "likely targeted".[288] In September 2024, Reporters Without Borders stated there were 31 credible cases where journalists were directly targeted by the Israeli army.[289]
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.[290] An investigation by the Agence France Press found Abdallah's killing was used with tank shells of Israeli origin and were deliberate and targeted.[291] Amnesty International stated the attack was a likely war crime and that "Israel must not be allowed to kill and attack journalists with impunity."[292] Human Rights Watch stated the attack was apparently deliberate and a war crime.[293] 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".[294]
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.[295] 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.[295] The Israel Defense Forces responded to the United Nations report by claiming that Hezbollah attacked them, so tank fire was used to retaliate.[295] The report concluded that the attack was a violation of UNSCR 1701 and international law.[296]
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.[297] Gazan officials initially asked residents to ignore the order, with the Interior Ministry stating Israel sought to "displace us once again from our land".[298] The evacuation was characterized as a forcible transfer by Jan Egeland, a Norwegian diplomat involved with the Oslo Accord.[299] Egeland stated, "There are hundreds of thousands of people fleeing for their life — [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."[299] UN Special rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned of a mass ethnic cleansing in Gaza.[300] Israeli historian Raz Segal termed it a "textbook case of genocide."[301] The action was condemned by the UN, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, and the IRC.[302]
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".[303][304] 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.[305] 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".[306] On 20 December, Human Rights Watch stated the risk of forced displacement was growing.[307] 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.[63] In March 2024, Forensic Architecture stated that Israel's "humanitarian evacuations" might amount to the war crime of forced displacement.[308]
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."[309] French president Emmanuel Macron told Netanyahu that a forced transfer of the population from Rafah would be a war crime.[310] In May 2024, Volker Türk condemned Israel's evacuation orders in Rafah, stating, "This is inhumane. It runs contrary to the basic principles of international humanitarian and human rights laws".[311] A UNOCHA spokesperson said of the Rafah evacuation: "There are strong indications that this is being conducted in violation of international humanitarian law".[312]
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.[313] By January 2024, Israel had destroyed more than 1,000 buildings for the planned zone.[314] In April 2024, UNOSAT found that around 90 percent of the 4,000 buildings on Gaza's eastern border had been damaged or destroyed.[315] The Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated such civilian properties were protected under international humanitarian law.[316] 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.[317] Geoffrey Nice, a war crimes prosecutor, stated, "It is unjustified, by any view, under international law."[318] Volker Türk, 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."[319] An analysis by Haaretz found the buffer zone could occupy as much as 16 percent of Gaza's overall territory.[320] A May 2024 Al Jazeera investigation found the buffer zone had taken 32 percent of Gaza's territory.[321]
During the war, soldiers looted Palestinian homes in Gaza, reportedly taking "whatever is easy and accessible".[322] On 21 February 2024, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the IDF's Military Advocate General, stated that some soldiers' actions — including looting and the removal of private property — had "crossed the criminal threshold".[323] Tomer-Yerushalmi stated such cases were under investigation.[324] The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the looting a war crime and demanded the Biden administration to condemn them.[325] The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly prohibits the looting of civilian property during wartime.[326][327][328] In August 2024, Yuval Green, an IDF paratrooper returning from Gaza, stated he had witnessed widespread abuses against Palestinians in Gaza, including looting and the destruction of homes.[329]
In July 2024, Israel bombed the Hodeidah port during its conflict with the Houthis. Human Rights Watch termed the strikes a possible war crime, as they appeared to be an indiscriminate or disproportionate attack on civilians.[330]
On 5 November 2023, an Israeli airstrike hit a car near Ainata, Lebanon, killing three children and their grandmother, and injuring their mother. The IDF admitted to striking the vehicle.[331] Human Rights Watch stated that their killings should be investigated as an apparent war crime.[332] Najib Mikati, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, called the attack a "heinous crime" and said that Lebanon would file a complaint to the UN Security Council.[331]
In September 2024, thousands of wireless communication devices exploded throughout Lebanon and Syria in an attack attributed to Israel, killing dozens of people, including civilians and Hezbollah militants. Lama Fakih, a director of the Human Rights Watch, said that the explosions would constitute an indiscriminate attack if the IDF had no way of accurately determining the location of the explosive devices since there would be no distinction between civilians and military targets. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that the attacks violated international human rights since the IDF did not have knowledge regarding the users of the devices or their location and surroundings during the explosions.[333]
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human rights, 202 Syrian refugees were killed by the IDF in Lebanon since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.[334]
According to the Council of Europe, the intentional targeting of journalists constitutes a war crime.[335] During the conflict, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) claimed that the Israeli army had deliberately targeted journalists.[336][337][338] An RSF investigation said that Israel had targeted journalists in two missile strikes on 13 October 2023 that killed Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah and injured four others. These two strikes, 30 seconds apart, hit a group of seven journalists in southern Lebanon who were reporting on the border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. In a video, the journalists are seen wearing vests and helmets identifying them as "PRESS". The marking was also present on the roof of their car, which exploded after being hit by the second missile.[339] The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, which tests and analyses munitions and weapons, assisted Reuters by examining the material collected at the site of the explosion and found that a piece of metal was the fin of a 120 mm tank round fired 1.34 km away from the border from a smoothbore tank gun.[340]
On 26 December 2023, a Hezbollah anti-tank missile impacted near a Channel 13 News team while they were interviewing a farmer at Dovev for an article following a prior Hezbollah assault that killed a 56-year-old employee of the Israel Electric Corporation, and injured five workers who were repairing electric lines.[341]
On 31 October 2023, after an investigation, Amnesty International stated that an Israeli white phosphorus attack on 16 October 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.[342][343] On 2 November, Amnesty International stated its investigations into four incidents on 10, 11, 16 and 17 October showed Israel had used white phosphorus munitions.[344] The claim was confirmed by the Washington Post, which identified two white phosphorus shell casings made in the U.S.[345] Human Rights Watch verified IDF's use of white phosphorus in at least 17 municipalities in Lebanon, including five municipalities where airburst munitions were used over residential areas.[346] It also called on the Lebanese government to file a declaration to enable investigations in the International Criminal Court.[346]
In southern Lebanon, Israel's white phosphorus bombs have destroyed over 4,500 hectares (45,000,000 m2) of forest with economic loses being valued at US$20 million.[347] The American University of Beirut estimated use of white phosphorus has led to more than 134 forest fires as of June 2024 burning 1,500 hectares (15,000,000 m2) of land.[348] As of 28 May 2024, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said that exposure to white phosphorus had injured at least 173 people.[346]
The targeting of hospitals, as well as religious sites, constitutes a war crime.[349]
The IDF shelled Meiss Ej Jabal Hospital, injuring a doctor on 10 November 2023. The missiles did not explode but caused damage to the emergency department and several cars. Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health condemned the attack, saying that "Israeli authorities were fully responsible for this unjustifiable act, which would have led to catastrophic results", and called for an investigation.[350] Days before, four people were reportedly injured after an Israeli bombing that hit two ambulances. The Lebanese National News Agency said that an Israeli drone strike hit two ambulances belonging to the Risala Scout Association, which is affiliated with the Amal Movement.[351]
On 26 December 2023, an anti-tank missile shot by Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon damaged a shed in a church compound in Iqrit, but not the church itself, wounding an elderly civilian.[352] As IDF troops and medical services were working to evacuate him, they were hit by further missiles, which resulted in nine soldiers being wounded, one of them seriously.[353][354]
On 11 January 2024, the IDF conducted strikes in the town of Hanine and targeted an emergency center affiliated with the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Authority. The attack killed two workers from the rescue force and destroyed an ambulance.[355] Other attacks on Islamic Health Authority centers occurred in Kafr Kila, Odaisseh and Blida killed 7 paramedic and rescue workers and destroyed 17 ambulances.[356]
On 27 March 2024, an Israeli airstrike targeted a paramedic center affiliated with the Islamic Group in Hebbariye, killing seven volunteer paramedics. The airstrike was condemned by the Lebanese Ministry of Health.[357] Later in the day, Israeli airstrikes in Tayr Harfa killed two paramedics from the Islamic Health Society, while strikes in Naqoura killed one from the Amal Movement-affiliated Islamic Risala Scout Association.[358] On 7 May 2024, Human Rights Watch declared the 27 March incident as an unlawful attack on civilians and said that they did not find any evidence of military targets at the site that was targeted. Investigations also showed that the IDF used an MPR 500 missile to conduct the raid.[359]
On 27 May 2024, an Israeli airstrike near Salah Ghandour Hospital in Bint Jbeil killed three civilians. WHO in Lebanon condemned the attack and called for the protection of hospitals and healthcare workers.[360] In October 2024, the head of Lebanon's Civil Defence in the south said Israel was specifically attacking health workers, stating, "We have had 40 ambulances which have been completely destroyed. On top of that 24 rescuing stations have been hit - just in this area."[361] Lebanese health officials stated on 5 October 2024 that fifty health officials had been killed in the prior 72 hours.[362]
Experts warned the 2024 Lebanon pager explosions potentially violated international humanitarian law.[363] Josep Borrell, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, questioned the legality of the pager attacks due to their high collateral damage among civilians, including the deaths of children. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, also raised concerns that the attacks were illegal. Belgian deputy prime minister Petra De Sutter went further, calling it a "terror attack."[364] Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, stated, "International humanitarian law prohibits the use of booby-trap devices in the form of apparently harmless portable objects".[365]
Booby traps are mostly outlawed under the Protocol on Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices ("Amended Protocol II") of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons,[366] to which Israel is a party.[367] Article 7, paragraph 2 of Amended Protocol II prohibits the use of "booby-traps or other devices in the form of apparently harmless portable objects which are specifically designed and constructed to contain explosive material."[366][368][369] The rules of engagement of some countries, such as the United Kingdom, also ban explosive devices disguised as harmless items.[370] The United States Department of Defense Law of War Manual gives watches, cameras, tobacco pipes, and headphones as examples of such items,[368] which are prohibited to "prevent the production of large quantities of dangerous objects that can be scattered around and are likely to be attractive to civilians, especially children".[366][371]
On 22 September 2024, Israeli President Isaac Herzog denied any Israeli involvement in the explosions.[372]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.[373] 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".[374] Ben Saul, UN special rapporteur on human rights, stated that a November 2023 IDF killing of two boys appeared to be a war crime.[375] On 5 March 2024, 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.[376]
Following the demolition of a Palestinian activist's family home in East Jerusalem — part of a broader wave of forced displacement in the West Bank[lower-alpha 6] — the European Union External Action Service stated, "Such acts are in violation of International Humanitarian Law".[378] George Noll, head of the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs, condemned the demolition.[379] Following the Israeli approval of around 3,500 new illegal settlements in the West Bank, UN human rights chief Volker Türk stated the transfer of Israel's population into the occupied territories was a "war crime under international law".[380][381] 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."[382] French president Emmanuel Macron condemned the expanded settlements, stating they "are contrary to international law".[383] The UN Human Rights Office stated they were "alarmed" by Israel's expanded settlements and stated they "fly in the face of international law".[384]
BBC News reported in May 2024 that 11 soldiers of the Kfir Brigade (which is primarily active in the West Bank) posted on social media 45 photos and videos showing detained Palestinians; the Israeli Defence Forces did not respond when asked about the individual incidents or individual soldiers involved and identified, instead broadly stating: "In the event of unacceptable behavior, soldiers were disciplined and even suspended from reserve duty."[385] BBC News further reported that the soldiers did not obscure their identities, with some of them posting under names of Yohai Vazana, Ofer Bobrov, Sammy Ben, and Ori Dahbash.[385] According to BBC News, the "detained Palestinians are frequently shown blindfolded and restrained, having been forced to either lie on the floor, or squat, with their hands bound behind their backs", with some detainees being covered in Israeli flags.[385] Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, stated, "The failure to hold Israel accountable has allowed its forces to violate IHL [international humanitarian law] without consequence".[386]
In September 2024, Israeli soldiers pushed three corpses from a rooftop during a raid on Qabatiya.[387]
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", although it has since admitted to its use.[388][389] 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.[388][390] However, white phosphorus is also 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.[391] White phosphorus ignites when exposed to atmospheric oxygen, and on contact can cause deep and severe injuries, potentially leading to multiple organ failure, and even minor burns can be fatal. 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".[392] According to Amnesty International weapons investigator Brian Castner, whether employing white phosphorus constitutes a war crime depends on the intended target and 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".[393]
On 31 October, after an investigation, Amnesty International stated that an 16 October 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.[394][395] On 2 November, Amnesty International stated its investigations into four incidents on 10, 11, 16 and 17 October showed Israel had used white phosphorus munitions.[396] 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.[397] 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.[398] In June 2024, Human Rights Watch verified the unlawful use of white phosphorus munitions over five populated residential municipalities.[399] According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, at least 173 people have needed medical intervention for white phosphorus exposure.[389]
On 10 October, the Israeli Defence Force published a video that appeared to show IDF soldiers shooting four surrendering Palestinians.[400][401] 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.[400] An IDF spokesman said he had no comment.[400] Killing surrendered civilians or combatants is a war crime.[402][403]
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 canister 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.[404]
Human rights groups documented multiple instances of civilians in Gaza being shot by Israeli soldiers while waving white flags.[405] 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 – even those waving white flags".[406][lower-alpha 7] 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.[408]
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.[409] Both the Norwegian Refugee Council and Amnesty International termed it a possible war crime.[410] An IDF senior commander later stated, "There are mistakes, it is war."[411]
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.[412][413][414] The Council on American-Islamic Relations said the incident should be probed and added to South Africa's ICJ case against Israel.[415] The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it a "violation of all relevant international norms and laws".[416] The Canadian-Palestinian former peace negotiator Diana Buttu stated the incident was "clearly a war crime".[417] 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.[418][419]
Footage obtained by Al Jazeera English showed two men waving white flags being killed by Israeli forces, then buried by army bulldozers.[420] 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.[421] The Palestine Red Crescent Society condemned Israel's actions as "extrajudicial killings".[422] The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the killings a "heinous war crime".[423]
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.[424][425][426] 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.[427] The wounded hostage was pursued into a nearby building by IDF soldiers, where he was killed despite continued pleas for help.[428] 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.[429] 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".[430][431] 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.[432]
On 30 January 2024, Israeli forces entered the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin disguised as medics and civilians while carrying concealed rifles.[433] After entering the hospital they drew their weapons and killed three militants — one member of Hamas and two members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad — one of whom was a patient.[434][435][436] The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed concern that the raid was a violation of international humanitarian law.[437] 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."[438] 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."[439] The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the shootings a crime against humanity.[440] The Independent Commission for Human Rights called the attack "an assault on an institution protected by international law".[441] OHCHR stated it was a "seemingly planned extrajudicial execution."[442]
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.[443] 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.[444]
In June 2024, UN experts condemned Israel's use of perfidy during the Nuseirat refugee camp massacre, stating Israeli forces "entered Nuseirat disguised as displaced persons and aid workers in a humanitarian truck. They violently raided the area, assaulting residents with intense ground and air attacks that spread terror, death and despair."[445]
On 17 January 2024, Israeli soldiers were recorded using a Palestinian shop-owner in Dura, Hebron, West Bank, as a human shield.[446][447] 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."[448] 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.[449] A 21-year-old man from Gaza City stated to Al Jazeera that he had been used as a human shield by Israeli forces.[450] In June 2024, Israeli forces tied a wounded man to the front of their jeep, eliciting condemnation for the IDF's use of Palestinian human shields.[451] In July 2024, footage showed Israeli soldiers apparently using Palestinian human shields to enter buildings.[452]
In August 2024, sources stated that Israeli forces were using Palestinians as human shields when they entered tunnels and buildings in Gaza.[453]
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.[454] Video evidence depicting degradation towards detainees shows Israeli soldiers transporting Palestinians from Ofer prison, all of whom are blindfolded and stripped completely naked.[455] 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 "صباح الخير يا قحبة" (Good morning, whore) before repeatedly kicking and spitting on him.[456] On 11 December, Human Rights Watch director, Omar Shakir, stated the blindfolding and stripping of Palestinian detainees represented a war crime.[457][458]
On 20 December 2023, Amnesty International called for an investigation into mass detentions, disappearances, inhumane treatment, and detainee deaths.[459] 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.[460] 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.[461] In March 2024, the United Nations stated that Israel had detained and tortured its employees in Gaza, extracting forced confessions.[462][463] A Bellingcat analysis found instances of a collection of images and videos showing the IDF degrading Palestinian detainees, which Queen’s University Belfast war crimes professor Luke Moffett stated showed potential war crimes.[464] CNN reported of an Israeli military base in the Negev desert that functions as a detention center for Palestinians.[465] In July 2024, Amnesty International stated Israel needed to end the indefinite detention of Palestinian prisoners without trial, stating it was a "flagrant violation of international law".[466]
On 19 February 2024, a report co-authored by Francesca Albanese and Reem Alsalem, United Nations special rapporteurs, urged an inquiry into allegations of serious human rights violations against Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the West Bank by Israeli forces.[467] The allegations involve rape and sexual violence. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a press release on 19 February, citing those claims and referring to photos allegedly taken by Israeli troops showing female detainees in degrading circumstances posted online.[468] In an interview, Alsalem described the allegations as based on "reasonably credible information" and cited Euro-Med Monitor as their source.[467]
The report stated, "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".[469] 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."[470] Physicians for Human Rights-Israel also described the sexual humiliation of detainees, including sexual insults and urination on prisoners.[471] The Palestinian Prisoner's Society stated men had been subjected to severe sexual assault, including attempted rape and violating strip searches.[472] 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.[473]
A June 2024 The New York Times investigation detailed allegations stating that Israeli interrogators in the Sde Teiman detention camp had inserted hot metal sticks inside detainee's anuses. One detainee reportedly died from the resultant injuries.[474] An April 2024 Haaretz investigation found that prisoners in Ktzi'ot Prison were routinely stripped and humiliated, and they were also deliberately struck in the testicles while undergoing naked checks with a metal detector.[475]
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!"[476]
Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people during its invasion and bombing of the Gaza Strip in the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.[477][478] Various observers, including Francesca Albanese (the United Nations Special Rapporteur),[479] have cited statements by senior Israeli officials that may indicate an "intent to destroy" (in whole or in part) Gaza's population, a necessary condition for the legal threshold of genocide to be met.[477][480][481] A majority of mostly US-based Middle East scholars believe Israel's actions in Gaza were intended to make it uninhabitable for Palestinians, and 75% of them say Israel's actions in Gaza constitute either "major war crimes akin to genocide" or "genocide".[482]
In June 2024, the UN Human Rights Office condemned the reported killing of 500 health workers.[483] As of August 2024, only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals were partially functional;[484] 84% of health centers in the region have been destroyed or suffered damage.[485] An enforced Israeli blockade heavily contributed to starvation and the threat of famine in the Gaza Strip, while Israeli forces prevented humanitarian supplies from reaching the Palestinian population, blocking or attacking humanitarian convoys. Early in the conflict, Israel cut off water and electricity supply from the Gaza Strip. Israel has also destroyed numerous culturally significant buildings, including 13 libraries,[486][487] all of Gaza's 12 universities and 80% of its schools,[488][489] dozens of mosques, three churches, and two museums.[490][491][492] By mid-August 2024, after nine months of attacks, Israeli military action had resulted in over 40,000 confirmed Palestinian deaths—1 out of every 59 people in Gaza—averaging 148 deaths per day. Most of the victims are civilians,[493][494] of whom at least 50% are women and children,[495][496] and more than 100 journalists.[497][498][499] Thousands more dead bodies are thought to be under the rubble of destroyed buildings.[494][500]
The government of South Africa has instituted proceedings, South Africa v. Israel, against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging a violation of the Genocide Convention.[501] In an initial ruling, the ICJ held that South Africa was entitled to bring its case against Israel, while Palestinians were recognised to have "a plausible right to be protected from genocide"[502] that faced a real risk of irreparable damage. The court ordered Israel to observe its obligations under the Genocide Convention by taking all measures within its power to prevent the commission of acts of genocide, to prevent and punish incitement to genocide, and to allow basic humanitarian services into Gaza.[503][504][505] The court also later ordered Israel to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza and to prevent genocidal acts during the Rafah offensive.[506][507] The Israeli government rejected South Africa's allegations,[505] and accused the court of being antisemitic, which it often does when criticised.[508][509]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."[510] 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.[511] The group called for an arms embargo.[512] 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".[513] 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.[514]
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.[515] Soon after, Joly stated the Canadian government was no longer issuing new weapons export licenses to the Israeli military.[516] 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 – including war crimes – and a plausible genocide."[517] 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.[518]
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".[519] 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.[520] 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."[521]
In May 2024, Amnesty International called on all states to cease weapons transfers to Israel and Palestine while there is "a risk they could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international law".[522] In June 2024, a group of thirty UN experts stated arms and ammunitions manufacturers transferring weapons to Israel may be complicit in violations of international law.[523]
Numerous heads of state criticized Israel's war crimes. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized Western countries for their complicity as Israel committed war crimes.[524] Colombian President Gustavo Petro termed Israel's campaign as a genocide.[525] Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and King Abdullah II of Jordan both condemned the collective punishment of Gaza.[526] Irish President Michael D. Higgins demanded the al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion be investigated as a war crime.[lower-alpha 8][530] Chilean President Gabriel Boric condemned Israel's "collective punishment" the Gazan civilian population[531][532] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the collective punishment of Gaza.[533] Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated, "It's not a war, it's a genocide."[534]
Belgian deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter called for sanctions against Israel and an EU ban on countries responsible for war crimes.[535] On 10 November 2023, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre stated Israel's actions violated international laws of war.[536] 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.[537][538] Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas called Israel actions in Gaza a genocide.[539] Irish PM Leo Varadkar stated Israel was committing collective punishment.[540] Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani called for an international investigation into Israeli war crimes.[541][542] On 12 December 2023, Joe Biden described Israel's attacks as "indiscriminate".[543]
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated Israel was collectively punishing Gaza.[544] Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi described Israeli actions in Gaza as crimes against humanity.[545] Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister of the Maldives, warned the evacuation of northern Gaza could amount to the "war crime of forcible transfer".[546] Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian described the events as genocide and a crime against humanity.[547] 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".[548][549]
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad termed Israeli actions as a genocide.[550] In a joint statement, the Foreign Ministers of nine Arab countries — the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Morocco — described Israeli actions as collective punishment.[551] Oman's Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, called for a war crimes investigation into Israeli action in Gaza.[552] 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".[553] Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian foreign minister, stated Israel's actions fit within the legal definition of genocide.[554] The Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated Israel was engaged in collective punishment through its sieges, indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and starvation.[555]
On 9 January 2024, David Cameron, the British foreign secretary, stated he was "worried" Israel had breached international law in Gaza.[556] On 14 January 2024, Cameron said that "Israel is acting in self-defence" and denied that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza.[557] On 14 February, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani described Israel's attack on Gaza as disproportionate.[558] Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State, described Israel's response as disproportionate.[559] 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".[560] Borrell later suggested the EU should consider sanctions on Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir for "incitement to war crimes".[561] Micheál 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".[562]
Ione Belarra, the Spanish minister of social rights, accused the EU and the US of "being complicit in Israel's war crimes."[563] Belarra further called for Israel to be denounced before the International Criminal Court for genocide in the Gaza Strip.[564] The Workers Party of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva officially classified Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide.[565] 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."[566] 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.[567] On 20 December, HuffPost reported US officials were urging Switzerland against a Geneva Convention conference.[568]
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen accused Israel of committing "textbook war crimes".[569] French Senator Guillaume Gontard stated that the Israeli prime minister was "using hunger as a weapon" in Gaza.[570] Australian Senator Mehreen Faruqi stated, "Israel is committing war crime after war crime in broad daylight and is getting away with it."[571]
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".[572] Qatari diplomat Sheikha Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani stated the Al-Shifa Hospital siege was a war crime.[573] Nicolas de Rivière, the French ambassador to the United Nations, called for an immediate ceasefire, stating, "It has to stop. What’s happening right now is totally contrary to the Geneva Conventions."[574] In a confidential memo, the Dutch defense attaché stated Israel was violating international law by "deliberately causing massive destruction to the infrastructure and civilian centers" of Gaza to restore deterrence against Iran and Hezbollah.[575]
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."[576] 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.[577] A group of 31 Palestinian human rights organizations, led by Al-Haq, wrote to UN chief António Guterres stating UN aid agencies were in breach of international law by aiding Israel's war objectives.[578] The Norwegian Refugee Council stated any push of Gazans into Egypt would be a war crime or crime against humanity.[579] The Non-Aligned Movement, a body of 120 countries, issued a statement calling Israel's war on Gaza "illegal".[580]
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."[581] 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".[582] 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.[583] 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".[584] Physicians for Human Rights–Israel 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".[585]
In May 2024, the World Council of Churches condemned Israel's "violations of international humanitarian law".[586] The International Committee of the Red Cross urged adherence to the Geneva Conventions in August 2024, stating they were being ignored in Gaza and elsewhere.[587]
Independent United Nations experts[lower-alpha 9] condemned the IDF's actions in Gaza, saying Israel had resorted to "indiscriminate military attacks" and "collective punishment".[589] Israeli authorities said that the airstrikes are intended to degrade the military infrastructure that is frequently constructed in close proximity to residential areas and civilian establishments.[590] They also denounced the "deliberate and widespread killing and hostage-taking of innocent civilians" by Hamas, calling them "heinous violations of international law and international crimes".[588] Israel's forced evacuation of northern Gaza also drew international condemnation. On 13 October 2023, Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, called it a "crime against humanity".[591] On 14 October, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, characterized it as a "repeat of the 1948 Nakba", noting Israeli public officials' open advocacy for another Nakba.[592] On 16 November, UN experts reported that "grave violations" committed by Israeli forces against the Palestinians of Gaza "point to a genocide in the making" and called on the international community to prevent this unfolding genocide.[593] The OHCHR expressed concern regarding reports of "mass detentions, ill-treatment and enforced disappearances of possibly thousands of Palestinians" in the north of Gaza.[594][595]
On 23 February 2024, the OHCHR stated that any transfer of weapons to Israel must be halted immediately as their use in Gaza is "likely to violate international humanitarian law".[596] On 27 March, Albanese stated that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza through the use of unlawful weaponry, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and man made starvation, which has been accompanied by "a pervasive anti-Palestinian narrative and dehumanization emanating from the uppermost tiers of Israeli society."[597] 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".[598] 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.[599][lower-alpha 10] UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk stated Israel's collective punishment and forcible evacuation of Gazans were both war crimes.[601]
According to UNRWA, its staff faced "torture, ill-treatment, abuse, and sexual exploitation" at the hands of Israeli authorities. The organization also accused Israel of extracting forced confessions from its staff of being involved with Hamas through torture.[602][603][604]
A group of UN experts warned of "a genocide in the making" in Gaza.[605] 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.[606] Martin Griffiths stated the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was intolerable and that "international humanitarian law appears to have been turned on its head".[607] Philippe Lazzarini called Israel's killing of United Nations workers a "blatant disregard of international humanitarian law".[608] The United Nations special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions and torture signed a joint statement urging a war crimes investigation.[609] The OHCHR stated it had "serious concerns" about Israel's compliance with international law.[610] Tlaleng Mofokeng, the special rapporteur on health, stated Israel had violated special medical protections in an "unrelenting war" on health.[611]
Speaking about Israel's planned Rafah offensive, the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres stated, "International humanitarian law lies in tatters".[612] A week later, Guterres condemned Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid, stating, "Nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people".[613] In September 2024, Guterres stated Israel had committed "very dramatic violations of the international humanitarian law" and described a "total absence of an effective protection of civilians."[614]
On 8 June 2024, the United Nations added Israel, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to a blacklist of countries and organizations that have committed abuses against children in armed conflict.[615] Regarding Israel being put on the list, President Netanyahu said the United Nations had put itself on the "blacklist of history".[616] Israel-UN Reperesentative Gilad Erdan also condemned the designation, describing it as "simply outrageous and wrong", despite Israel being responsible for overwhelming majority of civilian fatalities in the war, and having killed over 15,500 children by June.[617][618] Chris Sidoti, a member of the independent United Nations Commission of Inquiry, stated, "The only conclusion you can draw is that the Israeli army is one of the most criminal armies in the world".[619]
The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office opened an investigation into Israeli violations of international humanitarian law.[620] 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.[621] 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.[622] Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, stated she was investigating torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees by the Israeli army.[623]
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.[624] A US State Department official said, "Israel has an obligation to investigate credible allegations of law of war violations".[625] 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.[626] In an internal U.S. State Department memo, senior officials stated they did not find Israel's assurances that it's using U.S. weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law "credible or reliable".[627] On 29 April, the United States reported a finding that five Israeli units committed human rights violations before the Gaza war.[628] In May 2024, the U.S. State Department found it was "reasonable to assess" that U.S. made weapons had been used by Israel "in instances inconsistent" with international humanitarian law.[629] In June 2024, Israel's top military lawyer stated 70 possible legal violations were under investigation.[630] The military did not disclose the full list of investigations.[631]
In July 2024, Israeli state prosecutors stated they were seeking a probe into National Security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, as a measure to show the International Court of Justice it was complying with its orders to investigate individuals responsible for inciting genocide.[632]
On 9 November 2023, three Palestinian civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Israel with the International Criminal Court.[633] The groups charged Israel with war crimes, apartheid, and genocide, calling for the ICC to issue arrest warrants for top Israeli officials.[634] On 10 November, President Gustavo Petro announced Colombia was cosponsoring an Algerian ICC suit charging Israel with war crimes.[635] On 14 November, Human Rights Watch called on the ICC to investigate Israeli attacks on hospitals and ambulances.[636] A group of lawyers representing victims of Israeli attacks filed a suit in the ICC, charging Israel with genocide.[637] 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.[638] On 16 November, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa stated South Africa had referred Israel to the ICC for war crimes.[639] 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.[640] On 28 November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated Israeli officials should stand trial in international courts for war crimes.[641] 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.[642]
On 22 December 2023, Reporters Without Borders filed an ICC complaint against Israel for "probable war crimes".[643] On 6 January, a group of 100 Chilean lawyers filed a complaint at the ICC accusing Netanyahu of committing war crimes.[644] On 18 January, the foreign ministries of Mexico and Chile referred Israel to the ICC for potential war crimes.[645][646][lower-alpha 11] In April 2024, the government of Israel indicated concern that the ICC might soon issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials for alleged violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.[647]
In May 2024, prosecutors from the ICC reportedly interviewed two medics from Al-Shifa Hospital and Nasser Hospital about possible crimes committed in Gaza.[648] Later the same month, Reporters Without Borders filed its third Gaza complaint at the ICC.[649] The ICC chief prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant in May 2024; however, the court accepted amicus curiae observations on jurisdictional issues.[650]
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.[651][501][652] South African president Cyril Ramaphosa compared Israel's actions to apartheid.[653] South Africa's application was brought pursuant to Article IX of the convention.[501] Several human rights organisations, international organisations, and other nations[lower-alpha 12][lower-alpha 13] supported South Africa's suit.[714][715][716]
In an application filed on 29 December 2023, South Africa argued 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."[501][717] South Africa requested that the ICJ issue a legal order on an interim basis (i.e., before hearing the merits of the application) requiring Israel to "immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza."[501][717] Adjudication of the merits of the case may take years, but such an order could be issued within weeks.[652] In a statement to the ICJ during the proceedings, the South African ambassador to the Netherlands argued that the current assault on Gaza is not an individual event but the escalation of "Israel's 25-year apartheid, 56-year occupation, and 16-year siege imposed on the Gaza Strip."[718]
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.[652] Jarrah said that the case presents an opportunity to "provide clear, definitive answers on the question of whether Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people."[652]
On 6 March 2024, South Africa asked the ICJ to order additional measures against Israel because Gazans are facing mass starvation.[719]In May 2024, the ICJ ordered Israel to avoid any attack on Rafah which threatened the people of Gaza in whole or in part. After Israel continued with its offensive on Rafah, Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stated it was in "material breach" of the ICJ ruling and international humanitarian law.[720]
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.[721] 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.[721][722] 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.[721]
The suit, filed in federal court in California, asked the court to bar the US from providing weapons, money and diplomatic support to Israel.[721] 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.[722][723]
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."[724]
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".[725] On 15 December 2023, The Hague ruled that the state could keep exporting arms to Israel.[726] 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.[727]
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.[728][729] The NGOs' lawyers submitted more than 100 pages of witness statements to the High Court in August 2024.[730]
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).[731][732]
On 5 March 2024, 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 Mélanie 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.[733]
In June 2024, a group of South Korean civil society organizations sued top Israeli government officials for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.[734]
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