What are the rules of war? And how do they apply to Israel's actions in Gaza?

[Eugene]

Source: ABC News

What are the rules of war? And how do they apply to Israel's actions in Gaza?

ANNE FLAHERTY
Fri, October 13, 2023 at 7:46 PM EDT·4 min read

-snip-

Israel has promised to abide by international humanitarian law including those under the Geneva Convention that seeks to minimize the impact on civilians, provide aid to the wounded on the battlefield, and not to mistreat prisoners of war.

In general, the U.S. military and Israeli Defense Force also rely on similar rules of engagement in military operations.

Israel insists it follows the rules of war and always has.

But there is disagreement by international groups about exactly what qualifies as a violation in a country's quest to defend itself against terror attacks, as well as whether Israel could be prosecuted through the International Criminal Court -- an entity Israel doesn't recognize.

Officials at the United Nations and European Union have accused Israel of already violating its promise not to harm civilians by cutting water and electricity to all of Gaza residents, including to hospitals. They also say it's impossible to ensure the safety of so many civilians by giving only 24 hours to evacuate to avoid the fighting.

-snip-

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/gma/rules-war-apply-israels-actions-234600923.html

[jimfields33]

1. Keep civilian death low. Keep Hamas deaths high.

[MOMFUDSKI]

2. What is The Hague for anyway?

Either everybody honors rules or forget about it.

[onecaliberal]

3. The people in Gaza have nowhere to go, but hey just say listen to everyone here, they deserve it.

It’s fucking humanitarian disaster the likes of which we have NOT seen.

[Wonder Why]

4. Unfortunately, following the rules of war (an oxymoron) is difficult if only one side does it.

Witness the Russians in Ukraine. Everything from targeting civilians with rockets to kidnapping children to executing civilians to torture to forcing citizenship on Ukrainians in the territory Russia controls to attacking a foreign country without provocation in the first place.

It is amazing how the Ukrainians have minimized their improper conduct in the face of such disregard by Russia, although NATO countries have made it clear that support would be affected by their failure to do so.