A war between Israel and Palestine since the cross-border resistance campaign by Gaza’s ruling group, Hamas, on October 7 has caused a large civilian death toll.
The conflict falls under a complex international system of justice that has emerged since World War II, much of it aimed at protecting civilians.
Even if states say they are acting in self-defence, international rules regarding armed conflict apply to all participants in a war.
What laws govern the conflict?
Internationally accepted rules of armed conflict emerged from the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which have been ratified by all United Nations member states and supplemented by rulings at international war crimes tribunals.
Treaties govern the treatment of civilians, soldiers and prisoners of war in a system collectively known as the “Law of Armed Conflict” or “International Humanitarian Law”. It applies to government forces and organized, non-state groups, which would include Hamas.
Can a hospital be a military target?
Israel has been criticized for targeting medical facilities in Gaza, including the main Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City. It has long accused Hamas of setting up command and control centres beneath medical facilities in an effort to avoid air strikes. Hamas denies this.
The World Health Organization said as of November 15, 152 attacks on health infrastructure had been verified in Gaza.
There are many examples of attacks on health facilities in conflict zones in recent decades, from Ukraine and Afghanistan to Yemen and Syria, but the most recent jurisprudence dates to trials dealing with the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
Canadian lawyer Carolyn Edgerton, who worked on several cases at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, said while they did not examine hospital attacks specifically, the jurisprudence stressed the need to balance the principles of military necessity and humanity.
What acts could violate war crimes law?
Human Rights Watch cited as possible war crimes the deliberate targeting of civilians by Hamas, indiscriminate rocket attacks and the taking of civilians as hostages, as well as Israeli counter-strikes in Gaza that have killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children.
What do the Geneva conventions say?
Their overarching goal is to protect civilians in wartime.
Under the laws of armed conflict, combatants include members of state armed forces, military and volunteer forces and non-state armed groups.
Directly targeting civilians or civilian objects is forbidden. Intentionally attacking personnel and material involved in humanitarian assistance is a separate war crime as long as those providing the humanitarian aid are civilians.
A siege can be considered a war crime if it targets civilians, rather than a legitimate means to undermine the military capabilities of a force like Hamas, or if found to be disproportionate.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan has warned the Israeli army that it will need to show that “any attack that impacts innocent civilians or protected objects” such as hospitals, churches, schools or mosques must be done in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.
Under these laws, civilian objects can become legitimate military targets if they are being used to effectively contribute to military action.
Which institutions can try war crimes?
The first in line to try alleged war crimes are local jurisdictions, in this case courts in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is the only international legal organ able to bring charges.
The ICC’s founding Rome Statute gives it legal authority to investigate alleged crimes on the territory of its member states or by their nationals when domestic authorities are “unwilling or unable” to do so.