Is Israel Committing War Crimes in Gaza?
The data indicating that many of the casualties in Gaza are civilians raises the prospect that Israel has committed forbidden actions. There's a fine line between war and war crimes.
The latest round of fighting in Gaza once again raises questions about what measures are permissible and what are forbidden in times like these. Legal discussion of the subject is based on three main principles: the principle of distinction which requires to distinguish between civilians and combatants and to attack only combatants and military targets; the duty to take precautionary measures to avoid hurting civilians; and if a military target is being hit but civilians are liable to be harmed, this is illegal unless the harm to civilians is proportionate to the concrete and direct military advantage expected to result from the attack.