GAZA 2014 Physicians Report
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Conclusions
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The attacks were characterised by heavy and unpredictable bombardments
of civilian neighbourhoods in a manner that failed to discriminate between
legitimate targets and protected populations and caused widespread destruction
of homes and civilian property. Such indiscriminate attacks, by aircraft, drones,
artillery, tanks and gunships, were unlikely to have been the result of decisions
made by individual soldiers or commanders; they must have entailed approval
from top-level decision-makers in the Israeli military and/or government.
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The initiators of the attacks, despite giving some prior warnings of these attacks,
failed to take the requisite precautions that would effectively enable the safe
evacuation of the civilian population, including provision of safe spaces and
routes. As a result, there was no guaranteed safe space in the Gaza Strip, nor
were there any safe escape routes from it.
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In numerous cases double or multiple consecutive strikes on a single location led
to multiple civilian casualties and to injuries and deaths among rescuers.
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Coordination of medical evacuation was often denied and many attacks on medical
teams and facilities were reported. It is not clear whether such contravention of
medical neutrality was the result of a policy established by senior decision-makers,
a general permissive atmosphere leading to the flouting of norms, or the result of
individual choices made on the ground during armed clashes.
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In Khuza’a, the reported colduct of specific troops in the area is indicative of
additional serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
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