The UN Human Rights Office has released a report accusing Israeli air strikes in Gaza of potentially violating the laws of war by failing to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. The report highlights six specific attacks on residential buildings, a school, refugee camps, and a market between October and December of last year, resulting in at least 218 deaths and the destruction of civilian objects.
Israel has rejected the UN’s findings, stating that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operated in accordance with international law and accusing Hamas of embedding itself among civilians. The Israeli military launched a campaign in response to an attack on southern Israel, resulting in thousands of casualties in Gaza.
The UN report examined the strikes, which allegedly involved the use of powerful air-dropped munitions, and concluded that the wide-area effects of these weapons likely resulted in indiscriminate attacks on densely populated areas. The report also criticized the lack of specific warnings before the strikes and the failure to minimize civilian harm.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on Israel to make public the findings of the IDF’s investigations into the incidents and hold those responsible for violations to account. Israel’s mission to the UN in Geneva condemned the report, claiming it was biased and aimed at singling out Israel while ignoring Hamas’s tactics of embedding military assets among civilians.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza has resulted in thousands of casualties, with both sides accusing each other of violating international law. The UN report sheds light on the complexities of warfare in densely populated areas and the challenges of protecting civilians during armed conflicts.
