ICC should investigate 'Israel' over Nuseirat massacre: Ex-HRW chief

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Guardian
14 Jun 2024 07:04
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The former head of Human Rights Watch says that the Israeli occupation breached the standards of international humanitarian rights during its operation in Nuseirat where it killed over 200 Palestinians.

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A Palestinian man walks amid rubble following the Israeli Nuseirat massacre which resulted in the killing of over 200 Palestinians, in the central Gaza Strip, on June 8, 2024. (AFP)

Former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth emphasized that the International Criminal Court (ICC) should investigate the Israeli massacre in Nuseirat, which resulted in the killing of over 200 Palestinians, during the operation to retrieve four captives, earlier this month.

In an op-ed published by The Guardian, Roth said that the Israeli attack breached the International humanitarian law, which "prohibits" a military from launching an attack if the expected civilian toll "would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated."

Explaining his point, he noted that the occupation has retrieved in total seven Israeli captives via military operations in Gaza since the war began, yet was able to retrieve over 100 in the temporary ceasefire agreement with the Resistance last November.

The former top HRW official said, also according to International humanitarian law, that a key precaution is to carry out military operations when fewer civilians are present. However, the occupation launched its attack at an hour when Palestinian civilians "were out and about in the middle of the day, particularly in the nearby market," which "greatly increased the death toll."

The New York Times reported that, during the attack, the Israeli air force launched strikes against "dozens of nearby targets" to provide cover and time to the team retrieving the captives.

Responding to this statement, Roth questioned the nature of the "dozens" of targets the war jets bombed and the accuracy of the strikes.

"What were the 'dozens of nearby targets' that the Israel air force attacked? Was it able to strike Hamas fighters with any precision in the chaos of that moment? Or did it simply drop bombs in the vicinity, hoping to clear a path for the rescuers to flee despite the area being filled with civilians?"

In light of the questions he posed, the former human rights watch chief said that an independent investigation is required, affirming that the indiscriminate attacks are a war crime.

According to Israeli media, some members of the force that participated in the operation entered Nuseirat in a truck carrying furniture "driven by a female soldier in civilian clothes."

Roth said that this "may constitute the war crime of perfidy," which forbids soldiers from "dressing as civilians during military operations when it leads to death or injury."