Israel has been engaged in human rights violations in occupied Palestinian territories since 1967, including subjecting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to a blockade since 2007. In the wake of a series of military assaults by Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, from the Gaza Strip against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli armed forces launched a large-scale military attack that directly targets the blockaded territory. Thousands of civilians lost their lives or suffered injuries across Gaza, which Israel has been continuously targeting by air and land. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to relocate as Israel’s pledge to “eliminate Hamas” rendered Gaza uninhabitable. It is crucial to establish whether these severe attacks have any legal basis and which crimes Israel has committed by violating fundamental laws. Even the most general assessments suggest that Israel’s unlawful attacks, completely devoid of any legal basis, amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide.
Israel’s Crimes in Gaza
This study presents the relevant parts of international law before engaging in a legal assessment of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
By
Yücel Acer
