2009
Gaza War The Guardian has compiled 3 videos
[27] and testimony from civilians of alleged war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers during the Gaza war, including the use of Palestinian children as human shields, the targeting of medics and hospitals, and drone aircraft firing on civilians deliberately.
[28] Three teenage brothers from the al-Attar family have claimed that "they were taken from their home at gunpoint, made to kneel in front of tanks to deter Hamas fighters from firing at them and sent by Israeli soldiers into Palestinian houses to clear them".
[28]
An Israeli military official responded to these allegations: "The IDF operated in accordance with the rules of war and did the utmost to minimise harm to civilians uninvolved in combat. The IDF's use of weapons conforms to international law." An Israeli embassy spokesperson considers these allegations suspect because of Hamas pressure, adding: "Anyone who understands the realities of Gaza will know that these people are not free to speak the truth. Those that wish to speak out cannot for fear of beatings,
torture or
execution at the hands of Hamas."
[28]
However, in a report on the Gaza conflict,
[29] released July 2, 2009,
Amnesty International wrote that Israel did use human shields in Gaza. Amnesty claimed to have found cases in which
"Israeli 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 report also criticized Hamas for human rights violations, but "found no evidence 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."[30] The Israeli military responded, calling the report "unbalanced" and saying that it ignored "blatant violations of international law perpetrated by Hamas." AFP reports that thirteen pages of the 117-page study are devoted to the conduct of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. In the report, Amnesty calls on Hamas to "publicly renounce its policy of unlawful rocket attacks against civilian population centres in Israel."