5 months ago
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A new report published by the United Nations (UN) human rights office has raised "serious concerns under the laws of war" regarding the Israeli military's use of heavy bombs in Gaza and the high numbers of civilian deaths.
The assessment highlighted six attacks carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which involved "the suspected use" of bombs ranging from 250 lbs to 2,000 lbs and which took place from October 9 to December 2, 2023.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that 218 deaths had been verified from these six attacks which were carried out on "residential buildings, a school, refugee camps and a market."
"The requirement to select means and methods of warfare that avoid or at the very least minimize to every extent civilian harm appears to have been consistently violated in Israel’s bombing campaign," said High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
The report found that in these six attacks "the IDF may have repeatedly violated fundamental principles of the laws of war."
In a statement, the UN human rights office said Israel's "choices of methods and means of conducting hostilities in Gaza, including through the extensive use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas, have failed to ensure that they effectively distinguish between civilians and fighters."
Among the attacks listed were the strikes on the Ash Shujaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City on December 2, which caused destruction across an approximate diagonal span of 130 meters, destroying 15 buildings and damaging at least 14 others.
The report found that the bombs deployed "are mostly used to penetrate through several floors of concrete and can completely collapse tall structures" and that considering the dense population of the areas targeted, "the use of an explosive weapon with such wide area effects is highly likely to amount to a prohibited indiscriminate attack."
Israel launched a military offensive after the Hamas-led terror attack on October 7, during which 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
More than 100 hostages are believed to remain captive in Gaza, although at least 40 have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.
Since then, more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Hamas-run health authorities.
Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, the United States and others.
