Amnesty claims ‘damning evidence of war crimes’ in Israel’s Gaza campaign
London, Oct 20 (EFE).- Global rights group Amnesty International asserted on Friday that it possesses “damning evidence of war crimes in Israel’s bombing campaign” in Gaza that must be investigated.
The rights group said has documented alleged “unlawful Israeli attacks, including indiscriminate attacks, which caused mass civilian casualties.”
Amnesty International, which continues to gather information directly from Gaza, outlined five specific cases in which the Israeli military purportedly targeted locations indiscriminately, failing to take essential precautions to protect civilians.
The group said it spoke to survivors and eyewitnesses, analyzed satellite imagery, and verified photos and videos to investigate air bombardments carried out by Israeli forces between Oct.7 and 12.
The strikes “caused horrific destruction, and in some cases wiped out entire families,” it said. “In each of these cases, Israeli attacks violated international humanitarian law.”
According to the rights group, the Israeli military failed to adopt reasonable measures to spare civilians and carried out indiscriminate attacks that did not differentiate between civilians and military targets.
In certain instances, these attacks may have been directed against civilian sites.
Amnesty urged the international community to call on Israel to end its total siege, which has cut Gazans off from food, water, electricity, and fuel and urgently allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“They must also press Israel to lift its longstanding blockade on Gaza which amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population, is a war crime, and is a key aspect of Israel’s system of apartheid.”
The group said the Israeli authorities must rescind their “evacuation order” which may amount to forced displacement of the population.
“It is vital that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court urgently expedites its ongoing investigation into evidence of war crimes and other crimes under international law by all parties.”
The group said without justice and the dismantlement of Israel’s system of apartheid against Palestinians, there could be no end to the horrifying civilian suffering.
“In their stated intent to use all means to destroy Hamas, Israeli forces have shown a shocking disregard for civilian lives.”
The group said Israeli military “pulverized street after street of residential buildings killing civilians on a mass scale and destroying essential infrastructure, while new restrictions mean Gaza is fast running out of water, medicine, fuel and electricity.”
“Testimonies from eyewitness and survivors highlighted, again and again, how Israeli attacks decimated Palestinian families, causing such destruction that surviving relatives have little but rubble to remember their loved ones by,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
Amnesty documented the bombing on Oct.7 of a three-story residential building in the al-Zeitoun neighborhood, where three generations of the al-Dos family were staying.
“Fifteen family members were killed in the attack, seven of them children.” Baby Adam, just 18 months old, was the youngest victim.
“For 16 years, Israel’s illegal blockade has made Gaza the world’s biggest open-air prison – the international community must act now to prevent it becoming a giant graveyard,” Callamard said. EFE
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