A new report alleges that Israeli soldiers shot dead 11 unarmed Palestinian civilians carrying white flags during Israel’s offensive in Gaza earlier this year ”“ yet Israel has still failed to adequately investigate the killings, as required under international law.
The 11 deaths – including those of five women and four children – took place in seven separate incidents across Gaza in circumstances where, it is claimed, the victims were displaying white flags to indicate their status as non-combatants.
The incidents are alleged to have taken place in areas controlled by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) , where there was no fighting or Palestinian fighters nearby.
The New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch, which published White Flag Deaths: Killings of Palestinian Civilians during Operation Cast Lead said it informed the Israeli military of the cases in February. But the cases were not examined in an IDF internal investigation into the conduct of its forces, which concluded that IDF forces “operated in accordance with international law.”
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