A group of UN special rapporteurs asserted Israel’s indiscriminate airstrikes are “absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime.”
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Under the Rome Statute, it is a war crime to intentionally attack places of worship in non-international conflict.
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Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, called the attack “outrageous” and showing “a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians.”
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On 19 October, the Israeli Air Force bombed the Church of Saint Porphyrius, where hundreds of Christians and Muslims were sheltering, killing 16 people. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned it as a “a war crime that cannot be ignored.”
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On 24 October, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, after stating Israel had committed “clear violations” of international humanitarian law. On 1 November, following two airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp, the United Nation Human Rights Office stated, “We have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes.”
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Several actions taken by the Israeli army, including its blockade on electricity, food, fuel and water, were characterized as collective punishment, a war crime prohibited by treaty in both international and non-international armed conflicts, more specifically Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II.
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Tufts University law professor Tom Dannenbaum wrote that the siege order “commands the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, which is a violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime.” On 25 October, Oxfam stated Israel’s use of “starvation as a method of war” was a violation of international law, and that Gaza was being “collectively punished in full view of the world.”
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The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell called Israel’s cutting off water, electricity and food as “not in accordance with international law.”
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On 24 October, Human Rights Watch criticized Israel’s refusal to allow fuel or water into a Gaza, terming it a war crime. On 29 October, Karim Ahmad Khan stated Israel’s impeding aid to Gaza may constitute a crime under the International Criminal Court.
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Israel is alleged to have broken medical neutrality, a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
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In a statement, the Palestine Red Crescent demanded “accountability for this war crime.”
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On 14 October, the World Health Organization said the killing of health care workers and the destruction of health facilities “denies civilians the basic human right of life-saving health” and is prohibited by International Humanitarian Law.
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The Israeli evacuation order was characterized as a forcible transfer by Jan Egeland, a Norwegian diplomat involved with the Oslo Accord. Egeland stated, "There are hundreds of thousands of people fleeing for their life — [that is] not something that should be called an evacuation. It is a forcible transfer of people from all of northern Gaza, which according to the Geneva convention is a war crime.
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Israeli historian Raz Segal termed it a “textbook case of genocide.” The action was condemned by the UN, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, and the IRC.
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On 31 October, after an investigation, Amnesty International stated that an October 16 Israeli white phosphorus attack was indiscriminate, unlawful, and “must be investigated as a war crime”, due to its use on the populated Lebanese town of Dhayra, which injured at least nine civilians.
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On 1 November, Reporters without Borders asked the International Criminal Court to begin a priority war crimes investigation into the killing of nine journalists.
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On 10 October, the Israeli Defence Force published a video that appeared to show IDF soldiers shooting four surrendering Palestinians… Killing surrendered civilians or combatant is a war crime.
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On 17 October, 10 days after the start of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, 880 scholars of international law and genocide signed a public statement saying: “As scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies, and genocide studies, we are compelled to sound the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”