Islam Times - Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes

Islam Times - Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Israel's military of amounting to war crimes during its 11-day attacks against Palestinian militant groups on the Gaza strip in May.

HRW investigated three Israeli strikes that killed 62 Palestinian civilians. It concluded that “there were no evident military targets in the vicinity” of the attacks.

Gerry Simpson, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch, said Israeli authorities have consistently failed to investigate alleged war crimes, which “underscores the importance of the International Criminal Court’s inquiry.”

“Israeli forces carried out attacks in Gaza in May that devastated entire families without any apparent military target nearby,” Simpson said.

The Tuesday report called on the United States to “condition security assistance” to Israel by taking “concrete and verifiable actions” to comply with international human rights law and to investigate past abuses.

The report also accused Palestinians of committing unlawful attacks, launching over 4,000 unguided rockets and mortars at Israeli population centers.

On May 10, the Israeli regime launched a war against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, but, contrary to their expectations, they faced a strong missile response from the Palestinian resistance forces.

At least 257 Palestinians, including 66 children, were killed during the 12-day bombardment on the Gaza Strip last month. On the Israeli side, 13 people, including two children, were killed by rockets fired from Gaza.

The Israeli onslaught came to a halt under an Egyptian-brokered truce, which took effect in the early hours of May 21.

Throughout the 12-day slaughter, the US refused to condemn the Israeli killing of Palestinian children and gave the Israelis political cover by blocking UN Security Council statements calling for a ceasefire. In a pathetic attempt to pretend that the Biden administration cares about the suffering Israel is causing, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced additional aid for the Palestinians after the truce was reached. The assistance includes about $5.5 million to rebuild Gaza, a pittance compared to what the US is poised to give Israel.