Amnesty International has uncovered illegal Israeli strikes, including indiscriminate attacks that caused mass civilian fatalities and need to be looked into as war crimes, as Israeli troops escalate their devastating assault on the occupied Gaza Strip.
The organization conducted an investigation into the horrendous damage inflicted by Israeli forces' airstrikes between October 7 and 12, which in some cases resulted in the eradication of whole families. They confirmed images and videos, conducted interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses, and studied satellite footage. An extensive study of the organization's findings in five of these illegal assaults is presented here. Israeli attacks breached international humanitarian law in each of these cases. These violations included the failure to implement reasonable measures to protect civilians, the execution of indiscriminate attacks that failed to distinguish between civilian targets and military objectives, and the potential targeting of civilian objects.
Israeli soldiers have demonstrated an alarming lack of consideration for civilian life in their declared goal to eliminate Hamas by any means necessary. They have destroyed vital infrastructure and mass-murdered civilians by pulverizing residential structures one block after another. In addition, Gaza is rapidly running out of fuel, water, medication, and power due to recent restrictions. Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard stated, "Testimonials from eyewitnesses and survivors repeatedly highlighted how Israeli attacks decimated Palestinian families, causing such destruction that surviving relatives have little but rubble to remember their loved ones by."
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 from becoming a giant graveyard.
"The five cases that are being presented show the terrible effects that Israel's aerial bombardments are having on the people of Gaza, but they also only scratch the surface of the horror that Amnesty has documented." Gaza has been the largest open-air jail in the world for 16 years due to Israel's unlawful embargo; the international community has to take action right away to save Gaza from turning into a massive cemetery. We demand that Israeli troops stop their illegal assaults in Gaza right away and make sure they take all reasonable safety measures to reduce injury to people and damage to civilian property. A complete arms embargo must be imposed right away by Israel's friends due to the grave violations of international law that are occurring.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that since October 7, Israeli troops have bombarded the Gaza Strip with hundreds of airstrikes, killing at least 3,793 people—mostly civilians—including over 1,500 children. More than 1,000 dead people remain under the debris, and over 12,500 people have been injured.
After armed factions from the Gaza Strip started an unprecedented onslaught against Israel on October 7, the Israeli Ministry of Health reports that over 1,400 people—the majority of whom were civilians—had died and around 3,300 more had been injured in Israel. They launched indiscriminate missiles and dispatched fighters into southern Israel, where they carried out war crimes like seizing hostages and killing people on purpose. More than 200 civilian hostages and military prisoners were reportedly taken back to the Gaza Strip by fighters, according to the Israeli military.
"Amnesty International is urging Hamas and other armed organizations to cease shooting indiscriminate missiles and to quickly free all civilian captives. Under no circumstances can the purposeful slaughter of civilians be justified, according to Agnès Callamard.