HRW accuses Israel of ‘apparent war crimes’ in Gaza assault

HRW investigated three Israeli air raids that killed 62 Palestinian civilians during the 11-day assault on Gaza in May.

Human Rights Watch has accused the Israeli military of carrying out attacks that “apparently amount to war crimes” during an 11-day offensive on the Gaza Strip that began on May 10. The international human rights organisation issued its conclusions on Tuesday after investigating three Israeli air raids that it said killed 62 Palestinian civilians. It concluded that “there were no evident military targets in the vicinity” of the attacks. The report also accused Palestinian armed groups of apparent war crimes by launching more than 4,000 unguided rockets and mortars at Israeli population centres. Such attacks, it said, violate “the prohibition against deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians”.