The conflict has raised questions about which laws apply and how relevant they might be to what happens on the ground. These highlight the tension between Israel’s right to respond to attacks by Palestinian militant groups and its obligation to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza, which many international observers still consider to be under Israeli occupation.
Sites such as shops, hospitals, schools and places of worship are considered civilian installations where attacks would normally be prohibited. may constitute a war crime.
The rules become more complicated if a warring party has taken over a civilian installation as a military site. The use of civilians as human shields for combatants is forbidden. Israel Blame Hamas
Precautionary measures may include warnings that an attack is imminent, such as the one Israel issued to residents of northern Gaza – however, this does not absolve combatants of their responsibilities towards civilians.
prohibit the use of starvation as a weapon of war. It is forbidden to “attack, destroy, remove or render useless . . . objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population”. These include “foodstuffs, agricultural areas . . drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works”.
This language is echoed in the Rome Statute supporting the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands. It prohibits “the deliberate use of hunger among civilians as a means of warfare to deprive them of goods necessary for their survival”. This includes “deliberate obstruction of the supply of relief under the Geneva Conventions”.
“Such actions will trigger a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where residents currently face an inevitable risk of starvation,” experts said. They also condemned “the horrific crimes committed by Hamas”.
The court is already investigating possible crimes committed by both sides in the Palestinian territories since June 13, 2014, when the conflict in Gaza was escalating. Israel has strongly criticized the move.
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