Amnesty International has accused Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of using children as "human shields" and carrying out attacks on civilians during the recent three-week Gaza war that killed 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, including 300 children, according to a report by the rights group.
The London-based human rights group also accused the Islamic terrorist outfit, Hamas, of violating international law by firing rockets indiscriminately into southern Israel killing three civilians and forcing many to flee the area, but said it found "no evidence" that the outfit used civilians as human shields during the 22-day Israeli pummeling of the coastal enclave beginning December 28.
The rights group in a 117-page report published Wednesday said: "Much of the destruction [in Gaza] was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate attacks that failed to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilian objects" in violation of international law.
"Hundreds of civilians were killed in attacks carried out using high-precision weapons. Others, including women and children, were shot at short range when posing no threat to the lives of Israeli soldiers," it added.
Amnesty says Israeli troops used Palestinians as "human shields" to provide protection while they occupied or searched buildings.
Troops forced Palestinians to stay in one room of their home while turning the rest of the house into a base and sniper position, effectively using the families, both adults and children, as human shields and putting them at risk, the group said.
"Intentionally using civilians to shield a military objective, often referred to as using 'human shields' is a war crime," Amnesty said, while reiterating its call for an international arms embargo against the Jewish nation.
However, the rights group said it could not support Israeli claims that Hamas used human shields as it found no evidence that Palestinian fighters directed civilians to shield military objectives from attacks, forced them to stay in buildings used by militants, or prevented them from leaving commandeered buildings.
Amnesty also questioned the misuse of so-called high-precision weapons that killed children playing on rooftops or persons sleeping in their homes.
Israel not only fired imprecise incendiary white phosphorus shells over and into densely populated residential areas, killing and wounding civilians and destroying property, but also, asserts Amnesty, denied that this substance was being used, delaying appropriate medical treatment for the injured.
Artillery in general and white phosphorus shells in particular should never be used in populated areas and their use is unlawful, the report says.
The reports further says the scale and intensity of the Israeli attacks were unprecedented compared to the Jewish nation's military campaigns in Gaza in previous years, adding more people were killed and more damage was inflicted in the latest offensive.
Amnesty also criticizes Israel for failing to conduct an independent or impartial investigation into the war and for refusing to cooperate with independent fact-finding missions. The rights organization contrasts the Israeli attitude with that of Hamas, which rules Gaza and freely permits human rights organizations to conduct investigations into Israeli and Palestinian abuses.
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