War crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide: the allegations are multiplying in step with the attacks by Israel and Hamas on civilians since October 7th. Are these allegations justified? We take stock with the professor of humanitarian law at the University of Laval, Julia Grignon.
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The situation in Gaza
As many as 8,000 people, mostly women and children, have died in the bombings that rocked the Gaza Strip for 23 days. The death toll threatens to rise significantly as the Israeli army advances into the Palestinian enclave, backed by attacks of unprecedented proportions.
AFP
A young woman in the rubble of collapsed buildings in Gaza.
Due to the lack of water, food and other essential goods, the living conditions of the people in the Gaza Strip are continuing to deteriorate, local humanitarian organizations regret. Despite the thirty trucks that were able to enter the Palestinian enclave on Sunday, the aid is not enough. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees denounces a “collective punishment” imposed by the Jewish state on the Palestinian people.
In addition to this number, there are 1,400 Israeli victims and around 200 hostages still being held by Hamas.
Crimes that may be intertwined
Hostage-taking, killings of civilians, bombings of civilian facilities, total sieges and other collective punishments: the war in Gaza is characterized by a large number of acts that violate international law, emphasizes Julia Grignon right from the start.
In international law, crimes are divided into four broad categories, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
“The category does not detract from the heinousness and seriousness of the crimes committed,” emphasizes the professor of humanitarian law, adding that none of these crimes is more or less serious than the other.
If these categories can be confusing, this is particularly because the same crime can meet more than one definition.
“The murder of a civilian in the context of an armed conflict is a war crime. Furthermore, when committed as part of organized and systematic attacks on the civilian population, it is also a crime against humanity. Furthermore, if it is a murder committed with the aim of destroying a specific group, then it can be committed as part of genocide,” she specifies.
AFP
Image of an explosion in Gaza.
genocide
To speak of genocide, attacks must be carried out “with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group,” recalls Julia Grignon. The actions committed must be motivated by a concrete desire for destruction and supported by a systemic aspect.
Genocidal murderers can use various techniques: the murder of members of the target group, the severe attack on their physical and/or mental integrity, and the deliberate subjugation of the group to conditions that may lead to their total or partial physical destruction, such as famine. Measures aimed at preventing births and transferring children to another group are also genocidal acts.
AFP
A woman and two children in front of a destroyed building in Gaza.
If we know all this, is Israel committing genocide in Gaza? Does Hamas have genocidal intentions against Israeli Jews?
Experts are cautious.
Julia Grignon mentions that it is the International Criminal Court (ICC) that is tasked with officially qualifying atrocities committed in conflicts based on the evidence collected.
“It is the judge who makes this kind of restriction and genocide must be handled with great caution. “We cannot talk about genocide in a nutshell,” she emphasizes.
Last week, however, 800 scholars from the fields of international law, genocide studies and conflict studies sounded the alarm. They fear that genocide could be committed in Gaza. “We do not issue this warning lightly. We are aware of the seriousness of this crime, but the seriousness of the situation demands it,” they write.
war crimes
According to the UN, a war crime is an illegal act or a series of acts that intentionally violate the rules of international law designed to protect civilians in armed conflicts. These crimes are enshrined in several treaties, including the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions and the Rome Statute.
War crimes can be divided into several categories. There are those that target people in need of protection, such as the wounded or civilians, those that target humanitarian efforts or peacekeeping operations, and those that target protected places such as hospitals and schools.
Prohibited acts of violence such as mutilation, torture or taking hostages also constitute war crimes.
On October 10, the UN Commission of Inquiry said it was working to collect evidence of war crimes committed by Hamas and Israel.
Amnesty International is also calling for an investigation into Israel’s alleged use of white phosphorus in the city of Dhayra in southern Lebanon on October 16. In a statement released on Tuesday, Amnesty International said it may be a war crime because the attack was carried out indiscriminately and injured at least nine civilians in addition to causing additional damage. The use of white phosphorus, an incendiary weapon, is restricted under international humanitarian law.
In 2021, the ICC also opened an investigation into war crimes possibly committed by Israel during the 2014 war in Gaza, as well as another investigation into the colonization of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court and accuses it of “anti-Semitism.”
Crimes against humanity
Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to be committed in the context of an armed conflict. They can occur in peacetime, but in the context of widespread and systematic attacks on a specific civilian population.
The treatment of women under Taliban rule is an example of a crime against humanity that is not committed in the context of armed conflict.
Crimes against humanity can take the form of slavery, apartheid, population deportation, sexual violence, torture, imprisonment, enforced disappearances or even bombings of civilians or civilian infrastructure.
The main difference from genocides and war crimes is that they are not defined and codified in a specific international law treaty. Nevertheless, the ICC considers them to be among the most serious crimes.