Israel’s Use of Heavy Bombs in Gaza Violates International Law, UN Report

 Resonating of heavy bombs within harm ways area, six attacks killed at least 218 Gaza civilians and breached the international humanitarian law of Israel, according to the United Nations rights office. 

 Released on Wednesday, the study from the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights noted the events it referred to as representative of a trend. These attacks entailed the possible use of 2,000-pound bombs in attacking civil structures, which include homes, schools, refugee camps, and a marketplace. 

 OHCHR confirmed 218 deaths from the consequences of the attacks above, which took place between October 9 and December 2, which was at the beginning of the conflict, but notes that the death toll could be significantly higher. 

 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stated the following on Israel’s bombing campaign: “It seems the principle of choosing the means and methods of warfare to spare civilians or as a minimum cause them the least amount of harm was violated systematically. ” 

 Based on these series of Israeli airstrikes, which are relatively large in scale and significant in effect, the report said that it pointed out one more time to Israel’s continual infringements of the fundamental principles of the laws of war. 

 Damage assessment showed that the shelling and bombing caused severe destruction and large craters that could be detected on satellite imagery that hint at the employment of roughly nine 2000-pound GBU-31 bombs. Other writings also indicated that the calamity resulting from these raids claimed the lives of at least sixty people. 

 OHCHR spokesperson Jason Laurence also discussed the potency of the GBU-31s and other heavy bombs. These bombs are very destructive and can penetrate several floors of concrete structures, and the bombs can bring down tall infrastructure. He pointed out that in built-up areas, employing such explosives with effects in the regions having a high density of the population must amount to attacking civilians and civilian objects, which is prohibited under armed conflict laws. 

Ajith Sunday, the head of OHCHR in the area of Palestinian territories, highlighted the fact that this report is more focused on the actions of Israel because the effects of weapons employed by Israel’s military have been seen to be much more destructive than the missile or rockets fired by Hamas side. He criticized both sides but remarked that Hamas’ missiles had not caused extensive losses during the war. 

 This report has also postulated that unlawful targeting, when it is done as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, would constitute crimes against humanity where it is done systematically by an official policy of the state or an organization. 

 Hagag Stocco The findings emerge at a time when Israel’s military actions in Gaza remain under criticism of the international community and efforts for the investigation of infringements of IHL by the parties to the conflict, as well as ensuring responsibility for the violation in the course of the armed conflict.