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Israel ‘wantonly destroyed Gaza’
Israel inflicted “wanton destruction” in the Gaza Strip during its 22-day war on the coastal enclave in December and January, Amnesty International, the London-based human rights group has said.
In a 117-page report released on Thursday, Amnesty cited evidence that Israeli troops put children and other civilians in harm’s way “by forcing them to remain in or near houses which they took over and used as military positions”.
Accusing Israel of “breaching laws of war”, Amnesty said: “Much of the destruction was wanton and deliberate, and was carried out in a manner and circumstances which indicated that it could not be justified on grounds of military necessity.”
The organisation also criticised Hamas, the movement in control of the territory, for rocket attacks on Israel, which it called “war crimes”.
Widney Brown, the senior director for international law and policy at Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday: “What we have is, in both cases, both sides violating the laws of war.
“These laws of war are intended to protect civilians and in this case neither side showed respect for the importance of protecting those civilians.”
‘Fear and panic’
Amnesty also accused Hamas and other armed groups of endangering the lives of civilians in Gaza by operating near their homes.
Although rockets fired by Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip rarely caused casualties, they often sowed fear and panic amongst Israeli citizens and their use was “indiscriminate and hence unlawful under international law,” the report said.
Amnesty said it found no evidence to support Israeli claims that Hamas fighters deliberately used civilians as “human shields” during the conflict.
About 1,400 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, including 300 children and hundreds of innocent civilians, according to the report.
The figure is broadly in line with those from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza and the independent Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
Co-operation refused
The Israeli military put the Palestinian death toll at 1,166 of whom 295 were civilians.
Thirteen Israelis were killed, including three civilians, during the offensive Israel launched with the declared aim of curtailing cross-border rocket attacks.
Israel and Hamas have both rejected accusations of war crimes.
An inquiry conducted by the Israeli military found no evidence of crimes.
Israel has refused to co-operate with a United Nations inquiry currently gathering evidence into the war.
Israeli government officials said investigators were prejudiced against Israel from the outset.
