At least 18 Israeli airstrikes during the fighting in Gaza in November 2012 were in apparent violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday after a detailed investigation into the attacks. These airstrikes killed at least 43 Palestinian civilians, including 12 children.
Human Rights Watch field investigations found 14 strikes by aerial drones or other aircraft for which there was no indication of a legitimate military target at the site at the time of the attack. In four other cases, attacks may have targeted Palestinian fighters, but appeared to use indiscriminate means or caused disproportionate harm to civilians. Human Rights Watch did not attempt to investigate all Israeli airstrikes during the eight days of fighting called “Operation Pillar of Defense,” from November 14 to 21.
“Israeli forces too often conducted airstrikes that killed Palestinian civilians and destroyed homes in Gaza without apparent legal justification,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
Citrus farmer Yusuf Jilal Arafat stands in front of what remains of his home in which his 5-year-old daughter Runan was killed when 10 Israeli missiles struck this mostly agricultural area in the Al Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, December 2, 2012. Arafat’s wife, four months pregnant, and 8-year-old son Jilal (black shirt) were found alive in the rubble. His children now suffer from frequent panic attacks at night. Arafat does not know why his home was targeted, as no rockets were launched from the area. (Photo: Activestills)
Human Rights Watch sent detailed information about the cases to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on January 14, 2013, requesting further information. At a meeting on January 24 and in subsequent phone conversations, the military spokesperson’s office told Human Rights Watch that the military chief of staff had ordered a general (“Aluf”) to conduct an “operational debriefing” (“Tahkir mivtza’I“) concerning dozens of Israeli attacks during the conflict, including the cases Human Rights Watch investigated, which would be completed by late February.
Because previous Israeli “operational debriefings” involving attacks were not conducted by trained military police investigators or dedicated to investigating alleged laws-of-war violations, Human Rights Watch has decided to publish its findings rather than wait for their results.
At least seven of the airstrikes investigated by Human Rights Watch appeared to involve aerial drones launching guided missiles, and at least four appeared to involve fixed-wing aircraft dropping aerial bombs. In the remaining attacks from the air, the type of aircraft or the ammunition is not clear. As Human Rights Watch previously reported, Palestinian armed groups launched hundreds of inherently indiscriminate rockets against Israeli population centers in violation of the laws of war. Whatever the weapon used and the conduct of the other side, the laws of war are applicable and parties to the conflict are obliged to respect them.
Several Israeli missiles and a bomb struck civilians and civilian objects, such as houses and farm groves, without any apparent military objective, Human Rights Watch said. Under the laws of war, only military objectives – belligerent forces or objects that make an effective contribution to military action – may be targeted.
Human Rights Watch investigations found that Israeli drone strikes on November 19 killed three men in a truck carrying tomatoes in Deir al-Balah, and a science teacher who was sitting in his front yard with his 3-year-old son on his lap, talking to an acquaintance – only the toddler survived, but was seriously wounded.
Other drone-launched missile attacks killed a 79-year-old man and his 14-year-old granddaughter in the family’s olive grove in Abasan; a farmer and his nephew as they were walking on a road near their olive trees in the Khan Yunis area; and a 28-year-old woman carrying a blanket in the yard of her home in the town of Khuza’a.
An aerial bomb destroyed the two-story cinderblock home of the Hijazi family in Jabalya on November 19, killing the father, two of his children ages 4 and 2, and wounding his wife and four other children.
An Israeli Hellfire missile struck a hospital in Gaza City on November 19, puncturing the roof and cutting electricity and water. There were no casualties. Hospitals are protected objects under the laws of war unless being used for military purposes and targeted after giving a warning.
Human Rights Watch’s field investigations of these attacks found no evidence of Palestinian fighters, weaponry, or other apparent military objectives at the time of the attack. Individuals who deliberately order or take part in attacks targeting civilians or civilian objects are responsible for war crimes.
Several other strikes may have been targeting military objectives, but the harm to civilians and civilian objects appears disproportionate, Human Rights Watch said. The laws of war prohibit attacks in which the expected loss of civilian life and property exceeds the anticipated military gain.
An aerial bomb that may have targeted a member of Hamas’s armed wing on November 20 killed him but also destroyed his family’s house in Rafah, killed his 17-year-old brother, blinded their father’s wife, and wounded six of their siblings. A Hellfire missile strike that may have been targeting the home of a member of a Palestinian armed group killed at least three civilians and wounded at least 20 others, many of them outside on a crowded street. The alleged militant was not at home at the time.
Israeli spokespersons have repeatedly said that during “Operation Pillar of Defense” Israeli forces targeted only members of Palestinian armed groups. But, with a few exceptions, they have not commented upon or explained specific attacks that killed civilians in Gaza.
The attack that caused the largest number of civilian deaths was the bombing of the Dalu family home on November 18, which killed 12 civilians. Since Human Rights Watch’s previous coverageof the airstrike in which we reported that two posters showed Mohamed al-Dalu, one of those killed, as a Qassam Brigade member, an online forum, purportedly from the Qassam Brigade, described him as a fighter. No information is provided as to the role of al-Dalu, a police sergeant, in the armed group. If al-Dalu were a valid military target and the intended target of the strike, the attack on the home nonetheless raises concerns that it caused disproportionate loss of civilian life and property.
According to Human Rights Watch “Israeli spokespersons said that the attack targeted a member of a Palestinian armed group but it has provided no information to show that the man was a legitimate military target, nor published the findings of a promised investigation following the attack.”
Israel also has not provided information that would justify other attacks previously documented by Human Rights Watch: a probable drone strike that killed two TV cameramen, a missile strike on a media office that killed a 2-year-old boy, and a third missile strike that wounded seven media workers, one seriously. The laws of war obligate governments to investigate credible allegations of serious violations. The drones deployed by the Israeli military have video-recording devices so that everything viewed by the operator is recorded. Thus, every Israeli drone missile strike in Gaza would be registered on video and available to assist an investigation.
