UN: Israel may have repeatedly violated fundamental principles of the laws of war
A report prepared by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into six attacks carried out by Israeli forces in Gaza between October and December 2023 found that Israel may have repeatedly violated basic principles of the laws of war.
Israeli massacres in the Gaza Strip have been documented by UN agencies. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights prepared an assessment report on six attacks carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip, causing many civilian deaths and widespread destruction. The report stated that at least 218 people were killed in attacks with heavy bombs targeting homes, schools, refugee camps and markets between October 9 and December 2, 2023, and noted that “means and methods of warfare prevent harm to civilians.” “The need to select candidates appears to have been constantly violated during Israeli bombardment.”
“There was no distinction between civilians and warriors.”
The report reminded that civilian lives and infrastructure are secured within the framework of the rules of international humanitarian law and noted that “the methods and means chosen by Israel in the conflict in Gaza since October 7 include the widespread use of a wide range of explosive weapons. “The report noted that Israel used explosives powerful enough to completely collapse high-rise buildings in many areas, meaning that the use of explosive weapons with such widespread impact was prohibited and indiscriminate.
“There was no warning when civilians were targeted.”
The report also noted that in five of the attacks no warning was given to civilians, violating the “precautionary” principle to protect civilians.
“The presence of several distinct military objectives in an area does not make the entire neighborhood a military objective, since this would violate the principle of proportionality and the prohibition on indiscriminate attacks,” the report said.
A Call to Israel
The report states that Israel has claimed to be investigating the incidents but has not taken any significant steps. “While the IDF claims to have launched fact-based investigations into most of the incidents examined in the report, eight months have passed since the first investigations,” it said, explaining why such extremely serious incidents occurred. “However, there is still no clear explanation for what happened, and nothing has been done in terms of accountability.” The report called on Israel to fairly investigate the incidents in question, disclose detailed data to the public, hold those responsible to account, and ensure victims’ right to compensation.
