UN flags possible war crimes as Israel kills Gazans near armistice line
The UN human rights office warns Israeli troops may be killing civilians near Gaza's shifting "yellow line," calling the pattern alarming and potentially a war crime.
About 1/3rd of the total number of Palestinians killed since the Israel-Hamas truce in October were eliminated at locations near the military armistice line with Hamas, according to a United Nations (UN) report. The pattern has subsequently raised concerns that the Israeli armed forces might be attacking civilians for just approaching the area, and would hence add to unlawful killings and constitute war crimes, a UN official said.
UN’s exclusive data shared with news agency Reuters covers 453 confirmed killings from the beginning of the ceasefire till February 5. Of these, 152 Palestinians, including 102 men, 15 women, 24 boys, and 11 girls, were close to the armistice boundary. Altogether, around 900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce, as informed by Gaza health authorities. Israeli soldiers, four in number, were killed by militants in the past two weeks.
“The available information raises serious concerns that the Israeli army is shooting at and killing presumed civilians simply on the basis of their proximity to the so-called yellow line, which would amount to unlawful killings and thus war crimes,” Reuters quoted the head of the UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory, Ajith Sunghay as saying while also terming the pattern alarming.
“Civilians do not appear to have posed any risk to the life of the Israeli military, including some cases in which they appear to have been shot while carrying out daily activities or having approached or crossed Israel’s so-called yellow line,” Sunghay was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Israel marked a distinct armistice boundary with Hamas through a “yellow line”. The demarcation is marked on the ground with spaced-out concrete blocks. Troops of Israel are deployed to its east while Hamas controls a coastal strip of land.
The military repeatedly shifted those concrete blocks deeper towards the Hamas-controlled territory; Israeli maps show a widened restricted zone which now covers 2/3rd of Gaza.
Officials of Israel describe the territory seized in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria as “buffer zones” that are meant to stand against the potential military attacks following the October 2023 Hamas assault.
— with inputs from Reuters
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(This article has been curated by Seekriti Saha, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
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