The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said Wednesday that Israel may have committed war crimes by using heavy bombs at least six times, a charge Israeli officials quickly denied.
Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Details of the six cases Israel has placed weapons in densely populated areas of Gaza, including 2,000-pound heavy bombs, 1,000-pound bombs, and 250-pound bombs.
According to the report, the attacks took place between October 9 and December 2, 2023, at homes, schools, refugee camps and markets, leaving a total of 218 people dead.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the use of bombs in densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip and the lack of warning given to civilians in five of the incidents made them indiscriminate attacks that could amount to war crimes.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said international humanitarian law provisions to minimise civilian casualties “have been consistently violated in Israel’s bombing campaign” and that the Israeli military “has failed to effectively distinguish between civilians and combatants”.
“I call on Israel to make public the results of its detailed investigations into these cases,” he said in a statement, “and to ensure that thorough and independent investigations are carried out into these and all other similar cases, with a view to identifying and holding accountable those responsible for violations, and ensuring the rights of all victims to truth, justice and reparation.”
Israel’s permanent mission to the UN denied the accusations, saying the report was “subject to hindsight and methodological bias, which cast a shadow over the credibility of its legal assessment.”
“Therefore, there is no doubt that the sole purpose of this thematic report is to harshly condemn Israel, specifically, while also providing further protection to Hamas terrorists in Gaza,” the official said in a statement. “Israel is fighting Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza, not civilians.”
Israel is under international pressure to end the eight-month war in Gaza that has killed more than 37,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, who say it does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, as well as Hamas officials who planned the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people. Hamas has also kidnapped about 250 people from Israel, about 120 of whom remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s use of heavy bombs in the Gaza Strip has been a major source of friction between U.S. and Israeli officials, with President Biden refusing to use heavy bombs due to concerns about their use in populated areas.
Two of the attacks on populated areas identified in the UN report took place in October in Jabaliya Market and Jabaliya Refugee Camp in northern Gaza. The attacks on the refugee camp alone left 52 confirmed dead and 20 buildings damaged or destroyed.
Three more airstrikes hit homes, neighborhoods and schools in Gaza city, similarly densely populated areas, the UN said, and Israel also reportedly struck residential areas in central Gaza.
The UN said Israel did not distinguish between military and civilian targets and was taking a “broad approach to targeting”, potentially violating humanitarian law on distinction and proportionality.
Under humanitarian law, military forces are required not only to distinguish between legitimate targets and minimize civilian harm, but also to take precautions in any given attack to avoid causing disproportionate civilian harm by attacking military objectives.
