Incidents in the Gaza War (2008–2009)

This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Incidents in the Gaza War include incidents involving attacks against civilians, a school, a mosque, and naval confrontations.

[1] The Israeli Government report notes that indeed the test applied by the UN Inquiry Board was merely whether the physical premises of U.N. facilities had been affected and not whether the Laws of Armed Conflict were violated.

The findings published argue that in all the cases investigated, the damage resulted either from retaliatory fire or from misuse of the UN vehicles by Hamas militants and that there were no deliberate intentions to hit UN facilities.

[3] U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the United Nations would consult with Israel to improve their lines of communication to prevent future attacks on U.N. personnel and facilities.

[1] The Israeli Government report claims that the UN Inquiry acknowledged that "information regarding the School functioning as a shelter for civilians was provided by the U.N. to IDF only on 6 January 2009, the day after the incident had occurred.

[2] On January 15, the IDF shelled a storage facility within the compound of the UN headquarters for Gaza, containing tons of food and sheltering hundreds of Palestinian refugees.

IDF implemented an effective smokescreen as a protective measure in response, anticipating only "limited risk to civilians in relation to this operational advantage".

The BBC reported speaking to members of a family who say they were shot at as they tried to leave to replenish dwindling water and food supplies during the three-hour humanitarian lull.

[27][28] The Israeli army's investigation, approved by Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, stated that an IDF tank fired two shells at the house after suspicious figures were seen on the upper level of the doctor's home.

He added that the shot was questionable, but at the same time he understands how Israeli troops, situated at the inferior position, could have felt threatened in the middle of the battle.

[47] Several testimonies from local Gazan population and from IDF soldiers stated that Hamas operatives donned medic uniforms and commandeered ambulances for fighters transportation.

[49] The Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry accused the Hamas-run government's security services of using several hospitals and clinics in Gaza as interrogation and detention centers, where medical staffers have been expelled, during and after the war.

[53] The IDF probe made similar charges and stated that Hamas operated a command and control center inside Shifa Hospital in the Gaza City throughout the War.

[54] On January 11, Israeli forces "completely destroyed" a clinic run by Catholic relief group Caritas in al-Meghazi, also damaging 20 nearby homes in the attack.

[55] The following day, a mother and infant clinic run by Christian Aid and the Near East Council of Churches was destroyed by Israeli jets,[56] Patients and workers were given only fifteen minutes to evacuate, before the bombing.

[66] On January 12, a Palestinian doctor was killed by an Israeli helicopter while attempting to evacuate the wounded from a building hit by missiles in the Jabaliya refugee camp.

[67] The Israel-based Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center claims that, around the start of the conflict, the Hamas police force operations room in the northern Gaza moved into the Kamal Adwan hospital.

[68] On December 31, 2008, Israel Security Agency head Yuval Diskin told the government cabinet that he believed that Hamas militants have taken shelter in various Gaza hospitals.

[66] On January 12, Israeli Public Security Minister accused Hamas militants of hiding in Gaza's Shifa Hospital, using the rooms to "hold meetings,"[69] and donning medics' uniforms.

[70] On January 13, the PBS program "Wide Angle" reported that an anonymous doctor at Shifa stated that Hamas officials were hiding underneath the hospital building,[71] "putting civilians in harm’s way".

[71] On January 14, Israel Ambassador to the United Nations Gabriela Shalev filed a formal complaint to the UN Secretary General, claiming the discovery of a war room under Shifa Hospital,[72] that Hamas used patients as human shields.

[72] It has, additionally, been reported that ambulance drivers tending to the wounded were targeted and in some cases killed by Israeli forces, despite having been wearing outfits clearly identifying them as medical personnel.

[85] United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, said "Incidents such as this must be investigated because they display elements of what could constitute war crimes.

Moreover, he suggests that the official Palestinian Islamic Jihad version of the occurrences on the day of the incident indicate that its fighters had been operating in the area against IDF.

[96][98] The IDF's Spokesperson Unit has published videos showing secondary explosions that occurred after destroying mosques, alleging that these were caused by the weapons and ammunition hidden in them.

According to the captain, the ship returned to Larnaca after an encounter with Israeli warships at a distance of 92 nautical miles from the Cape Greco off Cyprus in Famagusta Bay, which is in international waters.

Greece had informed the Israeli government on its transfer of humanitarian aid days ago, but also warned the leaders of the expedition about the dangers of the expedition.The Greek government informed the head of the initiative and all those participating fully and in a timely manner – before the vessel set off – pointing out to them the serious safety risks involved in their planned action, which entails passing through a closed military sea zone that has been designated by Israel in the crisis region.

[103][104] The boat, which was boarded by Caoimhe Butterly, Cynthia McKinney, journalists from Al Jazeera and CNN,[105] three surgeons including Dr. Elena Theoharous,[106] was forced to turn back after a confrontation with Israeli naval vessels.

According to passengers and crew, their boat was approached after dark, in international waters[103] 90 miles off the coast of Gaza,[107] ordered to halt, and upon refusal fired upon and rammed, thus sustaining heavy damage.