By Yanis Varoufakis.
Here is an indicative, but not exhaustive, list. There is no doubt: Israel is investing in war crimes to effect its recapture and ethnic cleansing of Gaza while, at the same time, practising similar tactics in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court – Genocide
Article 6(c): Deliberately inflicting on a group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
Imposition of a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, totally depriving Gazans of electricity, food and fuel, and tightening even more the existing 16-year-old blockade thereof.[1]
Article 25(3)(c): For the purpose of facilitating the commission of such a crime, aids, abets or otherwise assists in its commission or its attempted commission, including providing the means for its commission
Israel purchases 10,000 riffles for Israeli settlers[2]
Article 25(3)(e): Directly and publicly Incites others to commit genocide
“We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly” (Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant)[3]
War crimes – Grave breaches of the Wilful killings of the 1949 Geneva Conventions
Article 8(2)(a)(i): Wilful killing
Israel’s targeting of the “Shaban family home, killing all six members, two parents and their children”.[4]
Article 8(2)(a)(ii); Torture and inhuman treatment
Severe psychological suffering inflicted on Palestinians who, every night, without electricity, fear for their life as bombings continue[5]
Article 8(2)(a)(iii): Wilfully causing great suffering and serious injury to body and health
Combined effect of the partial blockade, the total block of Gaza and the war on the mental health of children: “children who survive wars do not emerge unscathed and can pay a high price psychologically, emotionally, or behaviourally”, including “symptoms of anxiety, depression and trauma”.[6] These traumas can go as far as “lack of interest in everyday life” and “nightmares are frequently experienced”, as well as bed-wetting.[7] In 2022, concerns were raised on the ability of children to cope with this situation and the rising number of suicidal thoughts.[8] While these patterns have been noticed and documented after the May 2021 Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip but before the one that arose on 7 October, they are still relevant for the purpose of this material. Indeed, this attack is far more devastating than the precedent, as the Palestinian death toll reaches now 1,900 Palestinians.[9]
Article 8(2)(a)(iv): Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly
From 7 to 12 October 2023, “Israeli raids have destroyed thousands of housing units, and private and public properties”[10]
Article 8(2)(a)(vii): Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement
423,00 Palestinians “forced to flee their homes in Gaza due to the continuous and heavy indiscriminate Israeli strikes”. Subsequently, on 13 October 2023, Israel ordered the evacuation of “1,1 million Palestinians in Gaza”. [11]
Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict, within the established framework of international law
Article 8(2)(b)(i): Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities
Entire families targeted and under the rubble: “[t]he Abou Dan family was holed up at home, in the Bureij camp in the center of the enclave. Everyone kept checking their phones to make sure that no message had been sent from the Israeli army telling them to evacuate their home. “There was no warning shot, no text message, nothing. All of a sudden, a bomb fell, then two,” said Ahmed Abou Dan over the phone”.[12]
Article 8(2)(b)(ii): Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives
Between 11 October midday and 12 October midday, “Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of airstrikes, destroying two houses in Beit Lahiya owned by the Nsair and Al-Bes families […]. They also targeted residential areas in Jabaliya, Al-Tawam, Al-Amoudi, and Al-Karama neighborhoods […].”[13]
Article 8(2)(b)(iii): Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict
At least “12 UNRWA employees have been killed since the start of hostilities.”[14]
Article 8(2)(b)(iv): Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated
From 11 October midday to 12 October midday, Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of airstrikes, alongside “intense shelling by filed artillery and naval vessels in Gaza District, targeting residential neighborhoods”, resulting in 78 Palestinians killed.[15]
Article 8(2)(b)(ix): Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives
“The Israeli bombardment has rendered the Beit Hanoun hospital inoperative and damaged Al-Shifa hospital’s neonatal unit.”[16]
Article 8(2)(b)(xii): Declaring that no quarter will be given
“[a]ll the places where Hamas is deployed, hiding in and operating from […] we will turn them into rubble. I say to the residents of Gaza: Leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere”.[17]
Article 8(2)(b)(xiv): Intentionally directing attacks against buildings, material, medical units and transport, and personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international law
“Israel “directly targeted a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance in northern Gaza” on Wednesday, killing paramedics Khalil Al-Sharif, Yasser Al-Masri and Ahmed Dahman”[18]
Article 8(2)(b)(xviii): Employing asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices
Israel’s use of white phosphorus on 10 and 11 October 2023[19]
Article 8(2)(b)(xx): Employing weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering or which are inherently indiscriminate in violation of the international law of armed conflict, provided that such weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare are the subject of a comprehensive prohibition and are included in an annex to this Statute, by an amendment in accordance with the relevant provisions set forth in articles 121 and 123
Article 8(2)(b)(xxv): Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival
“Imposing a total closure of the Strip amounts to a collective punishment of an unprecedented scale […]. All crossings between Gaza and Israel have been closed since Friday, 6 October. Since then, no people or goods have left or entered Gaza via Israel […].”[20]
War crimes are an everyday occurrence in the West Bank. From the Observer/Guardian: ‘They want revenge. They’re saying, either we die or you die’: West Bank residents fear rising tide of violence
[1] Sky News, “Israel imposes ‘complete siege’ of Gaza Strip and calls up 300,000 troops”, 9 October 2023, available at: https://news.sky.com/story/israel-formally-declares-war-as-fighting-against-hamas-continues-in-at-least-eight-locations-12980754; Alice Speri, “Israel responds to Hamas Crimes by ordering mass war crimes in Gaza” (The Intercept), 9 October 2023, available at: https://theintercept.com/2023/10/09/israel-hamas-war-crimes-palestinians/, referring to Tom Dannenbaum, X, 9 October 2023, available at: https://twitter.com/tomdannenbaum/status/1711330192013095207.
[2] Jeremy Sharon, “Ben Gvir says 10,000 assault rifles purchased for civilian security teams” (The Times of Israel), 10 October 2023, available at: https://www.timesofisrael.com/ben-gvir-says-10000-assault-rifles-purchased-for-civilian-security-teams/.
[3] Sky News, “Israel imposes ‘complete siege’ of Gaza Strip and calls up 300,000 troops”, 9 October 2023, available at: https://news.sky.com/story/israel-formally-declares-war-as-fighting-against-hamas-continues-in-at-least-eight-locations-12980754.
[4] Al-Haq, “Palestinian Organizations Call from the International Community to Stop Israel’s Reprisal against Palestinian Civilians”, 8 October 2023, available: https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/21800.html.
[5] The Guardian, “Gaza diary: ‘We survived another night. Every inch of my body aches- lack of sleep is torture’”, 13 October 2023, available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/oct/13/gaza-diary-we-survived-another-night-every-inch-of-my-body-aches-lack-of-sleep-is-torture.
[6] Indlieb Farazi Saber, “How the Israel, blockade affect mental health of Palestinian children” (Al-Jazeera), 12 October 2023, available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/12/how-the-israel-war-blockade-affects-mental-health-of-palestinian-children.
[7] Indlieb Farazi Saber, “How the Israel, blockade affect mental health of Palestinian children” (Al-Jazeera), 12 October 2023, available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/12/how-the-israel-war-blockade-affects-mental-health-of-palestinian-children.
[8] Save the Children, “Trapped: The impact of 15 years of blockage on the mental health of Gaza’s children’, p.18, 22, available at https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/trapped-the-impact-of-15-years-of-blockade-on-the-mental-health-of-gazas-children/.
[9] Al-Haq, “Urgent Action: Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Call on Third States to Urgently Intervene to Protect the Palestinian People Against Genocide”, 13 October 2023, available at: https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/21898.html.
[10] Al-Haq, “Days 5-6: Following Genocidal Statements, Israel Escalates Attacks on Gaza’s Civilian Population Through Killing, Starvation and Cutting Off Vital Supplies”, 12 October 2023, available at: https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/21877.html.
[11] Al-Haq, “Urgent: Israel’s Evacuation Order to 1,1 Million Palestinians in Gaza is Direct Forcible Transfer, Urgent Intervention is Needed”, 13 October 2023, available at: https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/21896.html.
[12] Clothilde Mraffko, “In Gaza, entire families destroyed by Israeli bombing: “My son, my niece and another child are still under the rubble’ (Le Monde), 12 October 2023, available at: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/10/12/in-gaza-entire-families-destroyed-by-israeli-bombing-my-son-my-niece-and-another-child-are-still-under-the-rubble_6167251_4.html.
[13] Al-Haq, “Days 5-6: Following Genocidal Statements, Israel Escalates Attacks on Gaza’s Civilian Population Through Killing, Starvation and Cutting Off Vital Supplies”, 12 October 2023, available at: https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/21877.html.
[14] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel-Flash update #7”, 13 October 2023, available at: https://ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-7.
[15] Al-Haq, “Days 5-6: Following Genocidal Statements, Israel Escalates Attacks on Gaza’s Civilian Population Through Killing, Starvation and Cutting Off Vital Supplies”, 12 October 2023, available at: https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/21877.html.
[16] France 24, “Gaza hospitals overwhelmed by air strikes and siege: doctors”, 10 October 2023, available at: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231010-gaza-hospitals-overwhelmed-by-air-strikes-and-siege-doctors.
[17] Prime Minister of Israel, X, 7 October 2023, available at: Prime Minister of Israel sur X : “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening: “This morning, on Shabbat and a holiday, Hamas invaded Israeli territory and murdered innocent citizens including children and the elderly. Hamas has started a brutal and evil war.” https://t.co/ckPXuXNHk0″ / X (twitter.com).
[18] Abeer Salman, Kareem Khadder and Ruba Alhenawi, “4 Palestinian paramedics killed Wenesday in strikes and shelling on Gaza” (CNN), 11 October 2023, available at: https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-10-11-23/h_b44251fc62ee96a79fcdb942c6aaad97.
[19] Human Rights Watch, “Israel: White Phosphorus Used in Gaza, Lebanon”, 12 October 2023, available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/12/israel-white-phosphorus-used-gaza-lebanon.
[20] Al-Haq, “Urgent: Israel Announces Total Warfare on Gaza’s Civilian Population, Employing Starvation as a Weapon”, 9 October 2023, available at: https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/21830.html.
Source: Yanis Varoufakis. 16 Oct 2023