LONDON: Amnesty International today said that new evidence of war crimes in the Gaza Strip shows that Israeli occupation forces continue to flout international humanitarian law with complete impunity.
The organization said that it investigated four Israeli airstrikes on the city of Rafah, three of which were launched in December 2023 after the end of the humanitarian truce, and one in January 2024, which resulted in the killing of at least 95 persons, including 42 children.
The organization added that Rafah city, located in the farthest south of Gaza, is supposed to be the ‘safest’ area in the Strip, but the occupation forces are currently preparing to carry out a ground offensive there.
It added that this offensive in Rafah is likely to have serious consequences for around 1.4 million citizens and internally displaced refugees who are currently present in Rafah after Israeli occupation forces compelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza to relocate southwards in the early stages of t
he current aggression.
Amnesty International confirmed that “it did not find in the four airstrikes any indication that the targeted residential buildings could be considered legitimate military targets or that people in the targeted buildings were military targets,” noting that ” this would raise concerns that these brutal airstrikes were direct attacks on civilians or civilian objects,” it added, ” they should be therefore investigated as war crimes.”
The organization added “even if the occupation forces intended to target military targets in the vicinity of these buildings, these attacks failed to distinguish between military targets and civilian objects, and are therefore considered indiscriminate attacks,” it added, “noting that indiscriminate attacks that kill and injure civilians are considered war crimes.”
Amnesty International stated that the evidence it collected also indicates that the Israeli army failed to provide effective warning, or any form of warning, at least to people living in the site
s that were bombed, before launching the attacks.
Entire families have been wiped out in Israeli attacks even after taking refuge in areas promoted as safe and without warning from the Israeli authorities, said Amnesty International’s Director of Research, Advocacy and Policy, Erika Guevara-Rosas.
She added that these attacks demonstrate an ongoing pattern of flagrant violations of international law by the Israeli occupation forces, which contradicts claims by the Israeli authorities that their forces are taking strict precautions to minimize harm to civilians.
Rosas pointed out that among the people killed in the ongoing airstrikes was a three-week baby girl, a prominent 69-year-old retired doctor, a journalist who received displaced families in his home, and a mother who was lying in the same bed with her 23-year-old daughter.
Amnesty International visited the targeted sites bombed by four airstrikes, took photos and videos of the devastation and interviewed a total of 18 people, including 14 survivors
and four relatives who participated in the rescue operations.
Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Laboratory also analyzed satellite images, photos and videos to determine and verify the geographical location of the attacks and the resulting destruction. In addition, the organization reviewed the ‘War Diary’ published by the official page of the Israeli army and found no reference to any of the strikes.
Amnesty International said: ‘Following the important interim ruling of the International Court of Justice that the risk of genocide is real and imminent, the horrific details of these cases reinforce the urgent need for all states to press for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, which is the most effective way to implement the interim measures ordered by the Court.’ ‘It also stresses the importance of imposing a comprehensive embargo on the supply of weapons to all parties to the conflict.’
The enormous destruction, half of the houses, large areas of agricultural land and the ongoing cut-off from hu
manitarian aid speak for “collective punishment,” she added. This is a violation of international humanitarian law, she said.
Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA