Amnesty International Accuses Israel of War Crimes

Amnesty International has referred to some of Israel’s actions in Lebanon as “war crimes that give rise to individual criminal responsibility.” A report by the human rights organization condemned the deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure and the loss of civilian life, noting: “Entire families were killed in air strikes on their homes or in their vehicles while fleeing the aerial assaults on their villages. Scores lay buried beneath the rubble of their houses for weeks, as the Red Cross and other rescue workers were prevented from accessing the areas by continuing Israeli strikes.”

Citing a variety of sources, the Amnesty International report said Israel?s air force had carried out more than 7,000 air attacks, while the navy had fired 2,500 shells. The human toll, according to Lebanese government statistics, was estimated at 1,183 deaths, mostly civilians, about a third of them children; 4,054 wounded; and 970,000 people displaced, out of a population of a little under four million.

?Statements from the Israeli military officials seem to confirm that the destruction of the infrastructure was indeed a goal of the military campaign,? the report said. It said that ?in village after village the pattern was similar: the streets, especially main streets, were scarred with artillery craters along their length. In some cases, cluster bomb impacts were identified.?

?Houses were singled out for precision-guided missile attacks and were destroyed, totally or partially, as a result,? the report said. ?Business premises such as supermarkets or food stores and auto service stations and petrol stations were targeted.

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