Israeli war crimes in the Gaza war

[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.

[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.

[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.

"[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.

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] In response to claims alleging that the report was based on "fabricated evidence", The New York Times issued a statement defending the integrity of the piece, emphasizing that it had undergone rigorous editing and verification, including consultations with experts and the use of supporting photographs, which they deemed "too horrific for publication.

[150] 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.

[157] 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.

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.

[163] 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.

[167] He reported widespread torture, including by medical staff, as well as electrocution during interrogations, sexual abuse, constant beatings, forced stripping, genital grabbing, and frequent occurrences of rape committed by both male and female soldiers.

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.

"[217] 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".

[229] 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.

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.

[345] 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.

[354] 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.

"[356] 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.

[374] 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[f] — the European Union External Action Service stated, "Such acts are in violation of International Humanitarian Law".

[377] 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".

[378][379] 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.

[427] 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.

[436] 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.

[519] 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".

"[547] 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.

[569] 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.

[596] 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.

[638] 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.

[649][650] 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.