ISRAELI forces failed to take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimise harm to civilians sheltering at camps for internally-displaced people while carrying out two attacks targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the south of Gaza in May, said Amnesty International in a new investigation published on 27 August.
Amnesty says the attacks were likely to have been indiscriminate, one attack is also likely to have been disproportionate, and they should all be investigated as possible war crimes.
On 26 May, two Israeli airstrikes on the Kuwaiti Peace Camp, a makeshift camp for internally-displaced people in Tal al-Sultan in west Rafah, killed at least 36 people – including six children – and injured more than 100. At least four of those killed were fighters. The airstrike, which targeted two Hamas commanders staying amid displaced civilians, consisted of two US-made GBU-39 guided bombs.
The use of these munitions – which project deadly fragments over a wide area – in a camp housing civilians in overcrowded shelters is likely to have constituted a disproportionate and indiscriminate attack, and should be investigated as a war crime.
In the second incident on 28 May, the Israeli military fired at least three tank shells at a location in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah which was designated a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli military. The attacks killed 23 civilians – including 12 children, seven women and four men – and injured many more. Amnesty’s research found that the apparent targets of the attack were one Hamas and one Islamic Jihad fighter. This attack, which failed to distinguish between civilians and military objectives by using unguided munitions in an area full of civilians sheltering in tents, was likely to have been indiscriminate and should be investigated as a war crime.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters were located in the internally-displaced persons’ camp, a location which displaced people believed was a designated ‘humanitarian zone’, with fighters knowingly endangering the lives of civilians. This is likely to have violated the obligation to avoid, to the extent feasible, locating fighters in densely populated areas. Amnesty has no information regarding the reason or motivations for their presence, but all parties to the conflict should have taken all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects.
Amnesty interviewed 14 survivors and witnesses, surveyed the locations of the attacks, visited a hospital in Khan Younis where the wounded were receiving treatment, photographed remnants of the munitions used in the attacks, examined satellite imagery of the locations and reviewed relevant statements by the Israeli military on the attacks. On 24 June, Amnesty sent questions regarding the two attacks to the Israeli authorities and on 5 July sent questions to the Chief Public Prosecutor and Ministry of Justice officials in the de facto Hamas administration, asking about the presence of fighters in these civilian areas. At the time of publication, no responses had been received.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, said: “While these strikes may have targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders and fighters, once again displaced Palestinian civilians seeking shelter and safety have paid with their lives.
“The Israeli military would have been fully aware that the use of bombs that project deadly shrapnel across hundreds of metres and unguided tank shells would kill and injure a large number of civilians sheltering in overcrowded settings lacking protection. The military could and should have taken all feasible precautions to avoid, or at least minimise, harm to civilians.
“The avoidable deaths and injuries of civilians is a stark and tragic reminder that under international humanitarian law, the presence of fighters in the targeted area does not absolve the Israeli military of its obligations to protect civilians.
“All parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to protect civilians. This also includes the obligation of Hamas and other armed groups to avoid, to the extent feasible, locating military objectives and fighters in or near densely populated areas.”
* More information on the investigation here.
* Source: Amnesty International