Independent experts have warned that the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab, her family, and two paramedics could constitute a war crime.

The experts condemned Israeli claims that its troops were not present in the area at the time as "unacceptable". They also called for an immediate halt to the attacks on Gaza's civilian population, which have resulted in the killing of over 38,000 Palestinians, including 13,000 children, cautioning that the widespread nature of these attacks might amount to a crime against humanity.
 
“The absence of proper investigation and accountability, more than five months after the tragic killing of Hind and six other members of her family trapped in a car which came under Israeli fire in Gaza is deeply troubling and may in itself amount to a violation of the right to life,” the experts said.

“The brutality of these killings seem to illustrate how reckless the army has been in its Gaza campaign: all instances of extrajudicial killing must be duly investigated and accounted for,” they added.

The experts stated that Hind's family, like many others in Gaza, had been forcibly displaced multiple times due to the Israeli aggression on the Strip.

They were killed, as per the experts, while fleeing the neighborhood of Tal al-Hawa in search of safety, which appears to be part of a broader pattern of indiscriminate killings of civilians trying to escape the relentless Israeli bombardment in Gaza following so-called "evacuation" orders from the Israeli military.

Not an isolated incident 

The experts emphasized that the Israeli killing of Hind Rajab and her family is not an isolated incident but part of a troubling pattern.

“We are extremely troubled by the pattern of apparent indiscriminate and targeted attacks against civillians in Gaza, including on locations used for humanitarian assistance or to shelter IDPs,” they said.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that when "Israel" launched a massive airstrike in southern #Gaza's al-Mawasi a few days ago, it dropped eight 2,000-pound bombs, allegedly in an attempt to kill Hamas’s top military leader, Mohammad Deif.

The precision-guided munitions… pic.twitter.com/yp9cYnOoJG

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 18, 2024

“The firing of heavy-calibre projectiles at a humanitarian zone near an office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza, killing 22 displaced civilians, and most recently the attacks on IDP tents in Al Mawasi area, on Ash Shati' Refugee Camp, and on the UNRWA Abu Oreiban school sheltering IDPs, among others, killing nearly 320 Palestinians, half of them women and children, have reinforced the fact that there is no safe place in Gaza,” the experts added.

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The experts emphasized that these attacks represent serious breaches of international humanitarian law. They urged that such attacks be promptly and thoroughly investigated and that those responsible be held accountable and face severe penalties.

“The wilful or indiscriminate killing of protected persons, including civilians, medical personnel, and humanitarian workers, amount to war crimes, and if systematic, crimes against humanity, and should be prevented at all costs,” the experts cautioned.

“We remain deeply troubled by the total impunity and apparent lack of investigations, and prevention of these crimes. This is all the more worrisome in the context of the recent order from the International Court of Justice for Israel to take immediate measures to protect Gaza's population from the risk of genocide,” they said.

Furthermore, the experts called on the Israeli government to permit independent experts, including international human rights monitoring groups, to enter Gaza. This access is crucial for a credible investigation into all violations of international law that have occurred since the start of the Israeli military operation, as per the experts.

They also reiterated their demands for an immediate ceasefire and serious breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law.

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