From Belfast Telegraph:
Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians and destroyed thousands of Gaza Strip homes in attacks that amounted to war crimes, Amnesty International charged yesterday, in the first in-depth human rights group report on the recent war in Gaza.
Amnesty called on Israel to publicly pledge not to use artillery, white phosphorus and other imprecise weapons in densely populated areas. And it urged Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers to stop rocket fire against Israeli civilians — attacks it also described as war crimes.
Amnesty — which first accused Israel of war crimes shortly after the fighting ended on January 18 — said “disturbing questions” remain about why high-precision weapons like tank shells and air-delivered bombs and missiles “killed so many children and other civilians”.
The group deplored Israel’s use of less-precise artillery shells and highly incendiary white phosphorous in built-up areas. It also accused Israeli forces of using Palestinians as “human shields” and frequently blocking civilians from receiving medical care and humanitarian aid.
The pattern of Israeli attacks and the high number of civilian casualties “showed elements of reckless conduct, disregard for civilian lives and a consistent failure to distinguish between military targets and civilians and civilian objects”, Amnesty said.
More than 1,400 Palestinians, including 900 civilians, were killed during the three-week offensive, according to Gaza health officials and human rights groups. Israel, which launched the war to halt rocket and mortar attacks on its southern communities, puts the death toll closer to 1,100.
From AFP:
“Hundreds of civilians were killed in attacks carried out using high-precision weapons, air-delivered bombs and missiles, and tank shells.
“Others, including women and children, were shot at short range when posing no threat to the lives of the Israeli soldiers,” it said.
“Most of the cases investigated by Amnesty International of close-range shootings involve individuals, including children and women, who were shot at as they were fleeing their homes in search of shelter.
“Others were going about their daily activities. The evidence indicates that none could have reasonably been perceived as a threat to the soldiers who shot them and that there was no fighting going on in their vicinity when they were shot,” the report said, adding that “wilful killings of unarmed civilians are war crimes.”
It said Israel’s use of white phosphorus shells was also a clear breach of international law.
White phosphorus is not illegal if used as a smokescreen in open areas “but it should not be used in a densely populated area as it was used here,” Rovera told AFP, adding that her team saw Palestinians with “hideous burns” from white phosphorus shells.
Amnesty also said Israel’s initial denial it used phosphorus caused further deaths.
“People could have been saved if the army had admitted using white phosphorus, rather than continuing to deny it,” Rovera said. “Then they could have received the care that was necessary.
The rights group was also critical of Israel’s use of flechette rounds — artillery shells which explode to emit hundreds of steel darts.
These are designed for use in open battle but were employed by Israel in built-up areas, a clear breach of the international rules of war, said Chris Cobb-Smith, an artillery expert engaged by Amnesty.
With its dazzling array of high-tech weaponry, Israel was perfectly capable of distinguishing between civilian and military targets, he told AFP.
Asked if Israel had deliberately targetted unarmed civilians, he said it was “very difficult to come to any other conclusion”.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Related articles: