Requires investigation of two attacks • Aerial bombing and shelling of humanitarian zone
Israel should be investigated for war crimes after two attacks in the Gaza Strip at the end of May this year in which several civilians died, according to the organization Amnesty International.
One attack was an aerial bombardment that took place against a refugee camp. In the second attack, a humanitarian zone was shelled, an attack that Israel’s military denied.
In an investigation that the organization Amnesty International releases today, they write that Israel should be investigated for war crimes after attacks carried out in the Gaza Strip.
Essentially, it is about two attacks. In one attack, which targeted two Hamas commanders, a refugee camp in Tal al-Sultan in western Rafah was bombed on 26 May. There, Amnesty believes that at least 36 people died, including six children, and 100 people were injured.
In the second attack, which Israel’s military denies having carried out, a humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah was shelled on 28 May. According to Amnesty, 23 civilians were killed, including twelve children, and many more were injured.
– What we see in our report is that Israel continues to commit very serious crimes that target civilians in a very vulnerable situation. Refugee camps and humanitarian zones are attacked and weapons are used that are completely disproportionate, says Anna Johansson, Secretary General of Amnesty Sweden.
In the investigation, which is based on, among other things, interviews with witnesses, examination of ammunition and satellite images, it is stated that Israel used bombs with too great an effect and ammunition that cannot be controlled in densely populated areas.
According to Amnesty, the Israeli military has, among other things, not taken all conceivable precautions to avoid or minimize damage to civilians and therefore they should be investigated for war crimes.
– Since the seventh of October, thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed, there is a terrible devastation in Gaza and civilians still do not have access to humanitarian aid, water, food and hospital care. Therefore, it is important that the international community acts powerfully and unitedly and says this is not acceptable, it must stop, says Anna Johansson.