Accusations of violations regarding international humanitarian law, which governs the actions by belligerents during an armed conflict, have been directed at both Israel and Hamas for their actions during the 2008–2009 Gaza War. The accusations covered violating laws governing distinction and proportionality by Israel, the indiscriminate firing of rockets at civilian locations and extrajudicial violence within the Gaza Strip by Hamas. As of September 2009, some 360 complaints had been filed by individuals and NGOs at the prosecutor's office in the Hague calling for investigations into alleged crimes committed by Israel during the Gaza War.
On 15 September 2009, a 574-page report by UN inquiry team was released, officially titled "Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories: Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict". It concluded that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, UN Fact Finding Mission, 15 September 2009 On 16 October 2009, the UN Human Rights Council endorsed the report.
War crimes by Israel
The UN Human Rights Council, as well as many non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch, have accused the Israeli government of violating international law as regards collective punishment, targeting civilians,Israel to be held accountable for Gaza warcrimes: Palestinian lawyer, IRNA, 22 January 2009. proportionality, of prohibiting access to medical assistance, (subscription) and of using civilians as human shields. Richard Falk, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories and AI said that such actions are in violation of international humanitarian law governing the obligations of an occupying force and the laws of war. The Israeli government has responded to these accusations by stating that its use of force in the Gaza Strip are acts of self-defense rather than reprisals or punishment. Israeli human rights groups criticized the Israeli military for failing to properly investigate violations of the laws of war in Gaza, despite evidence of possible war crimes.
Report by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights The Human Rights Council ordered a series of periodic reports aimed to assess the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) following Israel's military operation. The first of the reports was set to be presented to the Council in September 2009. The report, compiled by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, alleges that the Israeli Defence Force breached laws of armed conflict by attacking indiscriminately civilians in at least several incidents, by targeting civilian and protected facilities, by damaging large number of buildings, by failing to provide unquestionably effective warning to civilians at risk and by failing to implement rules of international humanitarian law regarding military occupation. The report also states that indiscriminate rocket attacks, as well as ill-treatment and extrajudicial execution of detainees by Palestinian armed groups, constitute violations of laws of war.Human Rights Situation in Palestine , UNHRC, 13 August 2009. Navi Pillay also expressed a hope that the upcoming report by the fact-finding mission led by Judge Goldstone would serve as a basis for indicting the alleged perpetrators of the war crimes in the International Criminal Court.INTERVIEW-CIA probe must go to highest level-UN rights boss , Reuters, 27 August 2009.
Collective punishment The UN Human Rights Council as well as many non-governmental organizations and notable figures, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have accused Israel of imposing collective punishment on the population of Gaza by the blockade, invasion and bombardment of Gaza.Israel's bombardment of Gaza is not self-defence – it's a war crime , The Sunday Times, 11 January 2009 Michael I. Krauss, Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law and Abraham Bell, Director of the International Law Forum at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, argue that the bar on collective punishment forbids the imposition of criminal or military penalties (imprisonment, death, etc.) on some people for crimes committed by other individuals, leading to the conclusion that none of Israel's actions involve the imposition of criminal-type penalties.International Law and Gaza: The Assault on Israel's Right to Self-Defense , JCPA, 28 January 2009
Attacks on civilians and civilian objects (the principle of distinction) Israel has been criticized for violating laws covering distinction. Israel has stated that "anything affiliated with Hamas is a legitimate target." This has been criticized as being too broad. Amnesty International (AI) has said that this definition includes, "presumptively civilian" targets such as government ministries that serve no military purpose. Israel has said that these government ministries and the parliament building are part of the Hamas infrastructure and as such legitimate targets. B'Tselem describes Israel's reasoning as being "legally flawed," stating that simple Hamas' affiliation does not make such locations legitimate targets. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) asserted that under various provisions on International Law (e.g., UN Security Council Resolution 1566), Palestinian governing authorities in Gaza, whether directly involved in terror attacks or not, are criminal terrorists, by virtue of their willing provision of finance, plan, support and safe haven for terrorists. AI and B'Tselem point out that in many instances, IDF targeted civilian buildings without providing explanation for the attack, and some of such attacks raise the strong possibility that Israel may have violated the prohibition against targeting objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. AI asserts that those instances would violate Articles 51, 52 and 54 of Protocol I. A Center for Strategic International Studies report notes that the IDF admits it did hit some purely civilian targets, including UN facilities, but says that it is not clear that combatants were not in or near such targets; CSIS also claims that the laws of war require an effort to discriminate, and not perfect success. AI further notes that Israel's firing of artillery, shelling from tanks and from naval ships into densely populated civilian areas in Gaza may also amount to indiscriminate attacks. Retired U.S. Army colonel said however that the number of artillery rounds was low, indicating considerable restraint from the IDF, and that from military perspective he believes that things could not have been done any differently.Adapting Artillery to Urban War, Defense News, 23 March 2009
In June 2009, HRW issued a report entitled "Precisely wrong", presenting an investigation of six UAV attacks that resulted in large civilian death.Report: IDF used RPV fire to target civilians , YNET, 30 June 2009 HRW concluded that in the cases probed, Israeli forces either failed to take all feasible precautions to verify that the targets were combatants, or failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians and to target only the former; as a result, HRW deduce that these attacks were a violation of International Humanitarian Law. The report methodology included interviews with victims and witnesses, investigations of the attack sites and IDF and media reports; the probes were based on the presumption that the impact mark and the fragmentation patterns were consistent with the Israeli-produced Spike missile that are used by the drones.Precisely Wrong - Overview , HRW, 30 June 2009 The Israeli military did not cooperate with HRW on the report and said that the report appeared to be based on "unnamed and unreliable Palestinian sources" whose military expertise was "unproven". Spike's manufacturer, Israeli concern Rafael, says the missile can be fired not only by drones, but by helicopters, infantry units and naval craft.Human Rights Watch accuses Israel over Gaza drones , Reuters, 30 June 2009 Several military experts said that drones may reach operational heights of 4,000 metres; the launch of a missile at that altitude would likely elude the naked eye.Human Rights Watch accuses Israel over Gaza drones2 , Reuters, 30 June 2009 HRW military expert also conceded that two of the incidents cited took place in the evening or night, something that could potentially rule out anyone seeing the small aircraft.
In July 2009, Amnesty released 117-page report that was based on physical evidence and testimony gathered by a team of four researchers, including a military expert, from dozens of attack sites in Gaza and southern Israel during and after the war.22 Days of Death and Destruction, Amnesty, July 2009 The pattern of Israeli attacks and the high number of civilian casualties "showed elements of reckless conduct, disregard for civilian lives and property and a consistent failure to distinguish between military targets and civilians and civilian objects," Amnesty charged.Israel and Hamas 'both guilty of war crimes' - Amnesty, 2 July 2009, Times The group said that hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed using high-precision weapons, while others were shot at close range.Amnesty details Gaza 'war crimes', BBC, 2 July 2009 The IDF responded that the report ignores the efforts the military made to minimize harm to innocent civilians that included millions of flyers, personal phone calls to homes of Palestinians and radio broadcasts to warn civilians of the impending operation.Hamas, Israel reject Amnesty claims , 1 July 2009
In August 2009, HRW published a report that deals with seven incidents in which 11 Palestinian civilians, including 5 women and 4 children, were killed by Israeli soldiers despite the fact that they were waiving white flags supposedly visible to the IDF. According to the testimonies on which the report is based, the IDF was in control of the areas in which the incidents occurred, no fighting was taking place at the time when they occurred and no armed people traveled among the civilians.Report: IDF killed women and children with white flags in Gaza , YNET, 13 August 2009 HRW researches concluded that the Israeli soldiers at best failed to protect civilians, and at worst deliberately shot at them.Gaza white flag deaths probe call, BBC, 13 August 2009 In one of the cases mentioned in the report, on 7 January, Israeli soldiers shot and killed two of the girls of the Abd Rabbo family (aged 2 and 7), wounding the third girl (aged 4) and their grandmother.IDF dismisses Cast Lead claims JPost, 13 August 2009 Pro-Israeli NGOs CAMERA and NGO Monitor found out significant contradictions between the testimonies of the family members and the neighbors that were told HRW and the reports of the incident published in numerous newspapers in winter 2009.CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, Maariv, 21 August 2009 In a response to the report, the Israeli military said its soldiers were obligated to avoid harming anyone waving a white flag, but that in some cases Hamas militants had used civilians with white flags for cover. In correlation with the statement, the IDF uploaded a video to the internet depicting what it said was a Hamas gunman planting an explosive device and then attempting to take shelter in a home of uninvolved civilians waving white flags during fighting in Gaza.Rights group: IDF killed Gazans waving 'white flags' during war , Haaretz, 13 August 2009 Nevertheless, as of September 2009, the IDF is investigating several similar allegations, including the complaint filed by the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights on behalf of the Abd Rabbo family.Military Police begin probing Gaza 'white-flag' deaths , JPost, 8 September 2009
Attacks on civil police