Israel Hamas International Rule of War: At present a fierce war is going on between Hamas and Israel. Thousands of people from both sides have lost their lives. After the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel declared war. Let us tell you that there are some rules of war also. The rules of war are drawn from a set of internationally recognized laws and resolutions, including the United Nations Charter. According to this, there is a provision to ban aggressive wars. However, it also gives countries the right to self-defense.
According to the Hindustan Times report, the war zone approach incorporates international laws, including the Geneva Conventions, which were prepared after the Second World War and agreed to by almost every country. Four years after the end of the Second World War, i.e. in the year 1949, among the four things agreed upon, it was decided that during war time, civilians, injured and prisoners should be treated humanely. Neither party can behave disrespectfully with each other. Let us tell you that during the Second World War, America had dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki of Japan, in which lakhs of innocent people lost their lives.
Important points related to the law of war
According to the law of war, deliberate attack on civilians, settlements, humanitarian workers and destruction of property when not militarily necessary is called a war crime. Apart from this, there is another agreement, which has been signed by all the countries, that is the ban on the use of chemical or biological warfare materials during war.
Such rules apply to both wars and conflicts between nations, as they should in the war between Israel and Hamas. However, a party in this case is not a state or country. That is Hamas, which is an extremist group and lives in the Gaza Strip.
Did Hamas commit war crimes?
Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israeli towns and cities on October 7. Hamas has sent hundreds of gunmen across the border from Gaza. They attacked and killed civilians, including children and the elderly, in their homes. During this time many other people were kidnapped. Israel says that so far at least 1,400 people have been killed in the Hamas attack and 199 others have been abducted.
Haim Abraham, a law lecturer at University College London, said the evidence of crimes committed by Hamas is clear. Haim Abraham said that they (Hamas) kidnapped civilians, took them hostage. All these things clearly point towards war crimes. Jean Sulzer, a lawyer for Amnesty International France’s Commission of International Justice, said that according to the rules of the Geneva Convention, no civilians associated with a war zone should ever be held hostage. If this is done then it is called a war crime.
Accused of collectively punishing Israel
Israeli forces have launched airstrikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, cutting off supplies of food, water, fuel and electricity and ordering people to leave the northern half of the Gaza Strip ahead of a possible ground attack. Palestinian officials in Gaza say that 2,800 people have been killed and 11,000 injured during the bombing. Critics have accused Israel of collectively punishing Gaza’s 2 million residents.
The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross has said that instructions to hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes, coupled with complete siege and apparent deprivation of food, water and electricity, is not compatible with international humanitarian law. However, the Israeli military says it follows international law and attacks only legitimate military targets because it wants to root out terrorists hiding among the civilian population.
Human Rights Watch made allegations
Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using munitions containing white phosphorus. The use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas has been widely condemned. However, the Israeli Defense Forces have denied using white phosphorus as a weapon in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry says that it is working to collect and include evidence of war crimes committed by all parties in the current conflict, after which such evidence will be considered on the situation in the Palestinian territories. Will be included in the investigation being conducted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
ICC has authority
The Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC) has the power to prosecute officials of nations for violating the rules of war and order compensation for victims. But some countries, including America, Russia and Israel. They do not recognize the jurisdiction of the court. Thus the ICC does not have the police force to issue arrest warrants.
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