ISRAEL has horrendously destroyed the Gaza Strip and it is dreadfully bleeding. Still, some internationally accepted rules — of armed conflict emerged out of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which have been ratified by all the UN Member States, including Israel — are also supplemented by rulings at the international war crimes tribunals. By any legal means, the ongoing Israeli siege of Gaza is considered a war crime under customary International Humanitarian Law (IHL) as it targets civilians, rather than a legitimate means to undermine Hamas’ military capabilities. While a humanitarian crisis deepens in Gaza, the Israeli authorities are fleeing from their international moral and legal responsibilities.
On 12 October, the Israeli army claimed that it had already dropped 6,000 bombs on the territory, ‘’a purely quantitative approach’’ that only reinforces the idea of indiscriminate strikes. This Israeli claim of its right to defend does not properly answer the most pertinent question of the purpose of the ground strike into northern Gaza, which is densely populated. Can the law of retaliation take place a military strategy? On 9 October, PM Netanyahu vowed that Israel’s response to Gaza attack, will change the Middle East — posing a potential threat to regional peace.
The irony of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza is that the Israeli military — being unjustifiably influenced by a fascist military doctrine of double effect (DDE, also known for its flawed argument of proportionality) — has launched Operation Swords of Iron, not against Hamas, but also against the helpless civilian population of the Gaza Strip, this ultimately strengths the belief — that Israel’s leitmotiv is to reoccupy the Gaza Strip– which many believe, including the US President Joe Biden, will be Israel’s big mistake. Noteworthy, Abduaziz Sager of Gulf Research Centre Saudi Arabia rightly argues, “By paying lip service to the two-state solution for the past couple of decades, the rest of the world bears a share of responsibility for turning a blind eye to the pressure cooker of continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian land…’’
The Gaza humanitarian crisis: Today, Gaza comprises of 2.2 million people, seventy per cent of them are refugees, and nearly half of them are children. And, for the last sixteen years, they’ve been subject to a punishing situation where the Israeli government has closed the crossings into and out of Gaza, restricted the freedom of movement of the Gazans. The ongoing harrowing violence that has engulfed Gaza over the last 13 days has already created unprecedented humanitarian need. The Israeli government has blocked supplies of food, electricity, fuel, and water to the 2.2 million residents in Gaza.
Meanwhile, hundreds of children have been killed. Hundreds of thousands of children and families in Gaza have already been displaced. Entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed and turned to rubble. As of 16 October, more than 2, 800 people killed, while 11000 remained injured. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East holds that Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity.
There are not adequate facilities to safely accommodate residents from northern Gaza, and their safety remains jeopardized as Israeli airstrikes persistently target central and southern Gaza. According to the UN, Gaza seems to be transforming into an abyss. The last operational power plant in Gaza stopped working on Wednesday because it has run out of fuel, the head of the Palestinian enclave’s energy authority said.
Application of IHL in an armed conflict: International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is very clear about the notion of collective punishment. The hostile states are only allowed to target fighters, not the civilian population. While using starvation as a method of warfare is a crime under the law. Nonetheless, ‘’Attacks on military objectives have to be proportional under international law’’ which means they must not lead to excessive loss of civilian life or damage to civilian objects in relation to the direct and concrete military advantage expected’’. Thus, Israeli attacks with no military target and many civilian deaths can hardly be considered precise attacks.
Arguably, four basic principles of the customary IHL are: making the distinction between civilians and combatants; prohibiting to attack the horse de combat, those not involved in direct hostilities; and most importantly, preventing to inflict unwarranted suffering upon the civilians. Against this backdrop, the Israeli actions in Gaza are alleged of committing war crimes, including genocide. Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, called the Gaza evacuation order illegal, it is “not an evacuation opportunity, it’s an order to ‘’relocate’’. Under humanitarian law, it’s called forcible transfer of populations and it’s a war crime,” he said. The majority of war crimes involve death, destruction, injury and unlawful possession of property. On Tuesday, an Israeli air strike hit a hospital in Khan Yunus, Gaza, thereby killing hundreds of innocent Palestinians.
The role of international diplomacy: The international community and the western governments must pressurize the Israeli Government to rescind its evacuation order. The access into Gaza is urgent to rescue the victims. In its compliance of the IHL, Israel must honour these humanitarian demands: (i) stop the bombing and use of explosive and chemical weapons in populated areas in addition to the targeting of civilians, of inviolable UN premises, schools and hospitals where civilians shelter; (ii) Facilitate the provision of essential and life-saving relief assistance , including food, water, and medical supplies and care and access of humanitarian personnel into Gaza; (iii) Immediately facilitate medical evacuations for children and families who require it in either Egypt, the West Bank or Israel; (iv) Guarantee safe passage for families who need and want to seek safety to any place they feel safe.
According to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US President Joe Biden has appointed David Satterfield as his ME envoy to the Gaza humanitarian crisis. To rise from the rubbles, Gaza today needs all forms of humanitarian aid from all states, including the UN donor agencies and global financial assistance organisations.
—The writer, an independent ‘IR’ researcher-cum-international law analyst based in Pakistan, is member of European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on IR, Critical Peace & Conflict Studies, also a member of Washington Foreign Law Society and European Society of International Law. He deals with the strategic and nuclear issues.
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