Israel has used US-supplied munitions to carry out “illegal and indiscriminate” attacks on schools used as civilian shelters in Gaza, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW). The document, released on August 7, states that the strikes violated international law, which protects educational facilities from military targeting.
The report, titled ‘Gaza: Israeli School Strikes Magnify Civilian Peril,’ reviewed multiple incidents in which schools were bombed, highlighting two attacks that killed nearly 50 people, where HRW found no evidence of a military presence. While Israel has maintained that its strikes target Hamas militants embedded in civilian infrastructure, HRW noted that in only seven instances did the Israeli military provide evidence of combatants being killed. The group also emphasized that schools cannot be lawfully targeted unless they are actively being used for military purposes.
Readers may be surprised to know that there are conditions that allow for the lawful killing of civilians during times of war under international law. Although the deliberate targeting of civilians is considered a war crime and international law intends to provide clear protection for non-combatants during armed conflicts, there are conditions that make the killing of civilians permissible during wartime.
So, when is the killing of civilians allowed? Which laws make the killings of civilians permissible? Find out by clicking through this gallery.