War crimes? AI documents Israeli attacks in Gaza

Amnesty International (AI) This Friday, he called for an immediate investigation into several cases The Israeli army attacks Gaza which he documented and believes may represent war crimes.

The human rights organization, which continues to collect information in the field, presented data on five cases in which Israeli state bombed “indiscriminate” targets without allegedly taking the necessary precautions to protect the population.

Because of this, AI, which collected testimonies and analyzed satellite images, demands in a statement that Jerusalem “end the illegal attacks and respect international humanitarian law.”

Demands that he revoke the order to evacuate the Palestinians; end the blockade of the Strip’s supply, which he describes as “collective punishment”; and allow the entry of humanitarian aid.

It also requests that you provide immediate access to the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory so that it can collect evidence and testimony.

Amnesty, headed by Agnes Callamard, It also calls on the international community, particularly Israel’s allies the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, to “impose a comprehensive arms embargo on all parties to the conflict.”

requires them “refrain from any statement or action that, even indirectly, legitimizes Israeli crimes and misdemeanors in Gaza” and pressure the Jewish state to “lift its illegal 16-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which “It is a war crime and a key aspect of Israel’s apartheid system.”

AI also calls on the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to “accelerate the investigation into the situation in Palestine and the alleged crimes committed by all parties”.

It demands that Hamas and other armed groups “immediately stop the deliberate attacks on civilians, the indiscriminate firing of rockets and the taking of hostages”, which they “must unconditionally and immediately release”.

Amnesty investigated five Israeli attacks on Gaza between October 7 and 12 in which the Jewish state allegedly violated the law, although it says there are many more examples.

He also documented the October 7 bombing of a three-story apartment building in the al-Zeitoun neighborhood, where fifteen family members were killed, including seven children.

On October 8, an Israeli airstrike hit the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the Strip, killing several civilians, and on October 9, it bombed a market in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least one, at least 69 people.

On October 10, another airstrike killed 12 members of the Hijazi family and four of their neighbors on al-Sahaba Street in Gaza City, according to AI.

On the same day, another bomb attack hit a six-story building in Sheikh Radwan, completely destroying it and killing at least 40 civilians.

Amnesty’s investigation revealed that a member of Hamas was staying at one of the houses but was not there during the attack. The organization points out that “Membership in a political group does not by itself make an individual a military target.”

“Even if the person was a combatant, his presence in a civilian building does not make the building or any of the occupants a military target,” said the organization, which claims Jerusalem failed to issue adequate warnings or provide protection for civilians. Neighbors.

“In their stated intention to use all means to destroy Hamas, the Israeli forces have shown a stunning disregard for civilian lives,” Callamard said in a statement.

“They have razed street after street of residential buildings, killing civilians on a massive scale and destroying key infrastructure, while imposed restrictions mean Gaza is rapidly running out of water, medicine, fuel and electricity,” it added.

“For 16 years, Israel’s illegal blockade has turned Gaza into the largest open-air prison in the world,” says an activist who calls on the international community “act now to prevent it from becoming a giant graveyard.”