The paper critically evaluates the supposed human-rights abuses of the Gaza conflict through the prism of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). It involves the interrogation of the application, interpretation, and, in some respects, possible violation of the main principles of IHL (distinction, proportionality, and precaution) by the parties of the conflict using the purely case-study approach. 

Based on the normative framework presented by the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, the paper critically evaluates the hostilities that define the special protection accorded to civilians, the medical staff, humanitarian services, relief movement, and civilian infrastructure. 

Publicly available documents (including the deliberations of the United Nations, the recommendations made by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the reports of independent fact-finding commissions) form the empirical basis of the analysis. Taken together, these sources help to understand the regular trends of the civilian deaths, the systematic devastation of the most important infrastructure, and the constant obstacles to humanitarian access, as well as the accusations of unlawful targeting and indiscriminate harm. 

Moreover, the research criticizes the legal provisions of war crimes as the formulated Rome Statute, questioning the meeting of IHL and international human-rights law in the sphere of armed-conflict, specifically in the right to life, humane treatment and the procedural due process during arrest. 

The findings highlight the lack of responsibility which is eminent everywhere and underscores the very challenges of imposing compliance in overcrowded settings. This substantiates the claim that the principle of military necessity should not take the place of the need to protect the lives of civilians. 

In general, the paper lists a series of remedial actions that are aimed at strengthening enforcement mechanisms, increasing the paradigm of investigative activities and protecting humanitarian interventions strategies that, given their adoption, would significantly decrease civilian deaths and improve the compliance with the regulatory scheme in future operations.

International Humanitarian Law, Geneva Conventions, community

First: Books

Ilan Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, translated by Ahmed Khalifa, Institute for Palestine Studies, Beirut, 2007.

Ilan Pappe, The Idea of Israel (A History of Power and Knowledge), translated by Muhammad Zeidan, Arab Institute for Studies and Publishing, Beirut, 2015.

Thomas Suarez, State of Terror (How Modern Israel Was Founded on Terror), translated by Muhammad Asfour, National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, Dar Al-Maarefa, Kuwait, 2018.

Rashid Khalidi, The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, translated by Amer Sheikhouni, Arab Scientific Publishers, Beirut, 2021.

Rifaat Ahmed Muhammad, International Terrorism in Light of the Provisions of International Law, International Conventions and United Nations Resolutions, Dar Al-Nahda Al-Arabiya, Cairo, 2007, p. 30.

Ziad Itani, The International Criminal Court and the Development of International Criminal Law, 1st ed., Al-Halabi Legal Publications, Beirut, 2009.

Suhail Hussein Al-Fatlawi, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Dar Al-Thaqafa for Publishing and Distribution, Amman, Jordan, 2011.

Abdel-Khaleq Hossam, Responsibility and Punishment for War Crimes: An Applied Study on War Crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dar Al-Jami'a Al-Jadeeda, Alexandria, Egypt, 2004.

Abdel-Fattah Essam Matar, International Criminal Justice, Dar Al-Jami'a Al-Jadeeda, Alexandria, Egypt, 2008.

Abdel-Wahab Al-Messiri, An Introduction to the Study of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Dar Al-Fikr Al-Mu'asir, Damascus, 2003.

Ali Abu Hajila, Criminal Protection of Honor in Positive Law and Islamic Sharia, 1st ed., Dar Wael, Amman, 2003.

Ghada Helmy Ahmed, The Universality of Criminal Jurisdiction, Dar Al-Ahram for Legal Publications. Egypt, 2023.

Mohamed Sherif Bassiouni, The International Criminal Court: Its Establishment and Statute, Rose El Youssef Press, Cairo, 2002.

Second: Journals and Periodicals

Ghada Helmy Ahmed, International Crimes and Human Rights Violations in Light of International Humanitarian Law: Gaza as a Case Study, National Criminal Journal, Volume 67, Issue 1, March 2024.

Third: International Agreements

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, concluded on 21/12/1965 and entered into force on 14/1/1969.

The Convention against Torture of 1984.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Fourth: Websites

Key Developments on the 226th Day of the Israeli War on Gaza, Al Jazeera website, published at: https://www.aljazeera.net/news

US State Department: Israel “may” have violated international law in its war on Gaza, Amad Media, published on the website: https://www.amad.com.ps/ar/post.

Dina Shehata, How Western Media and Public Opinion Viewed the 2023 Gaza War, published on the following website: https://acpss.ahram.org.eg/News.

World leaders fail to act as Israeli invasion exacerbates humanitarian catastrophe in Rafah, Amnesty International website, published at: https://www.amnesty.org/ar/latest/news.

Nader Abdel Aziz Shafi, We and the Law: The Crime of Rape – What are its Elements and How is its Punishment Determined?, research published on the following website: https://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/ar/content.

Heba Salama Ghamry, From Balfour to the Flood: A Timeline of the “Palestinian-Israeli Conflict”, a research paper published on the following website for viewing: https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news.