Rights Group Accuses Israel of War Crimes during Gaza War
The Israeli army committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during last year's offensive in Gaza, a rights group said on Friday.
The 50-day military offensive in July and August 2014 -- code-named "Operation Protective Edge" -- "was marked by serious breaches of ... international human rights law," said the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
The Paris-based group also condemned Palestinian armed forces for "indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars" and using civilian structures -- including schools, cemeteries and places of worship -- as well as booby traps and human shields.
But it said those actions did not give the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) "carte blanche" to disregard international laws.
It accused the IDF of "indiscriminate attacks on civilians and their residences; attacks on medical facilities, transport and personnel; and attacks on structures providing shelter to internally displaced populations".
The seven weeks of clashes in the Gaza Strip killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and more than 70 Israelis.
Source: Agence France Presse
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