Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israeli forces of warcrimes, saying they used children as human shields and conducted wantonattacks on civilians during their offensive in the Gaza Strip.
TheLondon-based human rights group also accused Hamas of war crimes, butsaid it found no evidence that the Islamist rulers of Gaza usedcivilians as human shields during the 22-day offensive Israel launchedon December 28.
It also reiterated its call for an international arms embargo against Israel.
“Much of the destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects,” Amnesty said in a study.
Israelitroops forced Palestinians to stay in one room of their home whileturning the rest of the house into a base and sniper position,”effectively using the families, both adults and children, as humanshields and putting them at risk,” the group said.
“Intentionally using civilians to shield a military objective, oftenreferred to as using ‘human shields’ is a war crime,” Amnesty said.
Itcould not support Israeli claims that Hamas used human shields. It saidit found no evidence Palestinian fighters directed civilians to shieldmilitary objectives from attacks, forced them to stay in buildings usedby militants, or prevented them from leaving commandeered buildings.
However,the report did point out that Hamas and other armed groups firedhundreds of rockets into southern Israel. “Such unlawful attacksconstitute war crimes and are unacceptable,” said Donatella Rovera, wholed an Amnesty mission to Gaza and southern Israel.
More than1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died during the offensive Israellaunched in response to rocket fire from Palestinian militants.
Amnesty said 300 children were among those killed.
“Hundredsof civilians were killed in attacks carried out using high-precisionweapons, air-delivered bombs and missiles, and tank shells.
“Others,including women and children, were shot at short range when posing nothreat to the lives of the Israeli soldiers,” it said.
“Most ofthe cases investigated by Amnesty International of close-rangeshootings involve individuals, including children and women, who wereshot at as they were fleeing their homes in search of shelter.
“Otherswere going about their daily activities. The evidence indicates thatnone could have reasonably been perceived as a threat to the soldierswho shot them and that there was no fighting going on in their vicinitywhen they were shot,” the report said, adding that “wilful killings ofunarmed civilians are war crimes.”
It said Israel’s use of white phosphorus shells was also a clear breach of international law.
Whitephosphorus is not illegal if used as a smokescreen in open areas “butit should not be used in a densely populated area as it was used here,”Rovera told AFP, adding that her team saw Palestinians with “hideousburns” from white phosphorus shells.
Amnesty also said Israel’s initial denial it used phosphorus caused further deaths.
“Peoplecould have been saved if the army had admitted using white phosphorus,rather than continuing to deny it,” Rovera said. “Then they could havereceived the care that was necessary.
The rights group was alsocritical of Israel’s use of flechette rounds — artillery shells whichexplode to emit hundreds of steel darts.
These are designed foruse in open battle but were employed by Israel in built-up areas, aclear breach of the international rules of war, said Chris Cobb-Smith,an artillery expert engaged by Amnesty.
With its dazzling arrayof high-tech weaponry, Israel was perfectly capable of distinguishingbetween civilian and military targets, he told AFP.
Asked if Israel had deliberately targetted unarmed civilians, he said it was “very difficult to come to any other conclusion”.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.