(NewsNation) — Israeli forces may have failed to distinguish between civilians and fighters in Gaza and therefore violated the laws of war, according to a new United Nations Human Rights report.
The U.N. found that Israel used huge explosives in densely populated areas in six bombings between Oct. 7 to Dec. 2, 2023, “systematically” violating “the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack.”
The possible war crimes led to “high civilian fatalities and injuries and destruction of civilian objects.”
In five of those strikes, Israel gave no warning. Altogether, the report says the six “emblematic” strikes killed at least 218 people.
“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,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told Reuters.
According to reporting, the head of a U.N. Commission of Inquiry, Navi Pillay, said perpetrators of war crimes on both sides must be held accountable, citing findings from a separate U.N. Human Rights report.
That report says that while both Hamas militants and Israel have committed war crimes, Israel alone has committed the most “crimes against humanity.”
The U.N. has called on Israel to “ensure full investigations into the specific incidents cited in this report, and to make public its findings.”