Amnesty International reveals new massacres of civilians in Gaza

Translated by Angela Tagliafierro

Amnesty International noticed new illegal attacks by Israel on Gaza, which caused the death of civilians. The proofs show that the Israeli army keeps not respecting the Humanitarian International Law, destroying whole families and no legal consequences.

The organization led on an investigation about four Israeli attacks – three of them in December 2023, after the end of the “humanitarian pause”, and one in January 2024 – which caused the death of at least ninety-five civilians: forty-two of them were children. These attacks hit Rafah’s Governate, placed at the south border of the Gaza Strip, a place previously considered as the “safest”. Yet, the Israeli army is still fastening the preparation for an operation on land in this area. The consequences are potentially devastating for more than a million of people restricted in areas of 63 square km after the continuous mass evacuation.

In none of the four attacks, there was any indication suggesting that the hit buildings could be considered like legitimate military targets. This raised concerns that the attacks may have been aimed at civilians and were, then, to be considered as a potential war crimes. Even if the Israeli army had pointed to legitimate military targets in the nearby, it is evident that they didn’t differentiate between military targets and civilians. Furthermore, evidence collected by Amnesty International suggests that the Israeli army did not give notice of the attacks, at least to the people living in the buildings hit.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, director of the Research at Amnesty International, affirmed that whole families were annihilated by the Israeli attacks, even after looking for a shelter in areas considered “safe” and without being noticed about it. These attacks follow a continuous model of violation of the Humanitarian International Law and contradict what the Israeli authorities say. They affirm that their military forces are being more cautious to reduce the damage to civilians. Moreover, Amnesty considers the situation like a “concrete risk of genocide.”

The victims of the raid examined by the organization include a less than three-week baby girl, a sixty-nine-year-old doctor retired, a journalist who had offered hospitality to the evacuated people and a mother with her twenty-three-old daughter. Guevara-Rosas affirmed that the horrible descriptions of these four attacks highlight the urgent necessity for all the countries to work for an immediate and long-lasting cease-fire, the most efficient way to apply the precautionary measures commanded by the Court. She also emphasized the importance of imposing a total embargo on the weapons to all the parts involved in the war. These words are due to a temporary verdict of the International Court of Justice where the risk of genocide is estimated concrete and forthcoming.

The director of the research also cited the words of the relatives of the victims, who affirmed that “the fight to get justice” is what makes them go on despite their losses. These words highlight how much important is to stop the enduring impunity for war crimes and the other violations of the International Law committed by the Israeli forces. Consequently, there is an urgent necessity for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Penal Court to fasten the investigation on the war crime and other atrocities made by all the parts involved in the war.

Amnesty International examined the areas of the four attacks, taking pictures and videos of the damages. It also interviewed eighteen people, fourteen of them survivors and four relatives, who took part in the rescue operations. The Crisis Evidence Lab of the organization analysed the satellite pictures, photos, and videos to localize and check the attacks and the damages caused.

The current increase in the violence in Israel and in Gaza has no precedents: there are thousands of civil victims on both sides and a dramatical humanitarian situation. Respecting the principles of impartiality and independence, Amnesty International is controlling the activities of all parts involved in the war and will keep publishing its investigation on the violation of human rights in the area. Amnesty International will keep putting pressure in order that the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian army respect the Humanitarian International Law.

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