War Crimes In The 2023 Israel–Hamas War

Since the start of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war on 7 October 2023, the UN Human Rights Council identified "clear evidence" of war crimes by both Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces. A UN Commission to the Israel–Palestine conflict stated that there is "clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed in the latest explosion of violence in Israel and Gaza, and all those who have violated international law and targeted civilians must be held accountable." On 27 October, a spokesperson for the OHCHR called for an independent court to review potential war crimes committed by both sides.

The International Criminal Court confirmed that its mandate to investigate alleged war crimes committed since June 2014 in the State of Palestine extends to the current conflict.

By Hamas and allied militant groups

Determining the applicability of laws of war to militant groups is a difficult question, as both the Council of Europe and International Committee of the Red Cross note that international law treats war and terrorism as separate legal categories. The Israeli, American, EU, UK, Japanese, and Canadian governments define Hamas as a terrorist group. However some disagree with this characterization and claim Hamas are not terrorists. While the term "international law" pertains to states, it also applies to insurgent and terrorist armed forces. Even if an insurgency is deemed lawful — meaning it meets the criteria of "just cause", it must adhere to the principles of "just means." Regarding Hamas and its combatants, even if they have a presumptive right to fight against what they term as an "Israeli occupation," they must still abide by legal rules of "discrimination," "proportionality," and "military necessity."

On 9 October, 2023 Human Rights Watch stated that Hamas's apparent targeting of civilians, indiscriminate attacks, and taking of hostages amounted to war crimes.

On 10 October, 2023 the OHCHR stated the taking of hostages and use of human shields were war crimes. United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Türk noted that militant groups' "horrifying mass killings" were violations of international law.

Massacres

On 12 October, Jens David Ohlin argued Hamas's attacks potentially violated Articles 6-8 of the Rome Statute. Ohlin asserted the attacks might violate Article 6, if it could be proved the perpetrators had "genocidal intent." On 7 October, as his forces were massacring civilians, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, stated in a speech the intent of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, saying, "We want to liberate our land, our holy sites, our Al-Aqsa mosque, our prisoners." He concluded with the statement "To he enemy we have only one thing to say to you: get out of our land. Get out of our sight. Get out of our city of Al-Quds erusalemand our al-Aqsa mosque. We no longer wish to see you on this land. This land is ours, Al-Quds is ours, everything ereis ours. You are strangers in this pure and blessed land. There is no place of safety for you."

According to Ohlin, militant groups violated Article 7 if there was evidence the attacks had been part of an organized "plan or policy." Finally, Ohlin argued, the militant groups violated Article 8 by killing civilians. On 7 October, the militant groups massacred civilians. 260 were killed at the Re'im music festival, 112 at Be'eri, and 73 at Kfar Aza. Victims were reportedly subject to immolation, dismemberment, and beheading. On 15 October, a group of 100 Israeli and international law experts argued videos released on social media showed war crimes. In early December 2023, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan visited Israel in response to a request from a group representing families of victims of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. He said that the attacks against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7 constitute some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanity—crimes that the ICC was established to address. Khan emphasized the crimes were not random murders,” and noted that Hamas “hunted down people” and that “children were kidnapped from their cots.” He added that his office is willing to cooperate with Israel in investigating the events of October 7.

At the Re'im music festival massacre, Hamas militants massacred 270 civilians, many more, methodically shooting fleeing and hiding attendees, as well as taking hostages, in the largest terror attack against concerts in history. Witnesses have reported that some of the captured women have been raped.

At the Be'eri massacre, approximately 70 Hamas militants massacred at least 130 people, approximately 10% of the population of Be'eri, including women, children, and infants. When inside the kibbutz they went house to house, shooting or capturing the residents.

Hostage taking

Hostage-taking is outlawed in non-international armed conflicts as per Article 1(b) of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and customary international humanitarian law, and is recognized as a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Hostage-taking is defined as detaining a person with threats to harm them to compel a third party to act or abstain from acting as a condition for the hostage's safety. Hostages can be civilians or individuals not actively partaking in hostilities, including surrendered or detained armed forces members.

During the Hamas attack approximately 200 people were taken hostage by militants. Under the Geneva Convention, taking hostages is described as a "grave breach." In response to Israeli airstrikes on civilian residences, Hamas threatened on 13 October to execute a hostage every time Israel bombed a home without giving advance warning. These actions were not followed through. Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch, asserted hostage taking was a "heinous crime" with no justification. Amnesty International noted the militant groups' actions — including hostage-taking — "flagrantly violated international law."

Human shields

The Israel Defense Forces allege that Hamas uses civilians as human shields. This allegation has received support from the UK, the US, Australia, and European Commission. ''Al Jazeera'' notes, "Israel has, however, not provided concrete proof for its allegations." The Israeli army further argued the militant groups' hostages were being used as human shields. Human Rights Watch noted that using hostages, or any other person held in custody, as human shields is illegal.

All combatants, including insurgents, are bound by the law of war. Louis René Beres has analyzed the placing of military assets amid Palestinian civilian populations, categorizing it as a clear and punishable crime under international law. The act of perfidy, described as a "grave breach" in Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, is forbidden by the Hague Regulations, which forbid placing military assets or personnel in civilian populated areas. Additionally, Protocol I of 1977, supplementing the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, contains related prohibitions on perfidy. These regulations are enforced not only through the mentioned treaties but also via customary international law, as indicated by Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. A, as underlined in Article 3, shared across the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.Beres, Louis René. "Hamas Terror Attacks and International Law." Jurist, October 9, 2023, edited by Ingrid Burke Friedman.

Medical facilities

During war time, medical facilities are considered protected objects, and the use of them for military purposes is a war crime. Hamas has been condemned by the EU for using "hospitals and civilians as human shields." Israel alleges it operates a major command and control center beneath Al-Shiba hospital. According to Amer Abu Awash, a member of Hamas' elite Nukhba Force, much of Hamas' underground infrastructure is beneath hospitals, placed there so that Israel "won’t strike them". Abu Awash made this claim while handcuffed and undergoing IDF interrogation.

Israel's claims have been refuted by medical staff and by international bodies. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a resident doctor at al-Shifa, called Israel's assertion of Hamas using the hospital an "outlandish excuse" to bomb it. In response to the IDF allegations, Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, who has worked both at al-Shifa and al-Quds, stated Israel had a well-documented history of attacking civilian healthcare facilities without ever providing real evidence they were used in military capacities. On 13 November, Israeli academic Neve Gordon stated Israel was "abusing laws of war" to justify its attacks on hospitals.

On November 5, during the invasion of Gaza, the IDF released videos claiming Hamas fighters fired from the Sheikh Hamad Hospital. In response, Qatari official Mohammed El Emadi condemned Israel's claim, stating it was made "without concrete evidence or an independent investigation" and was a "blatant attempt to justify the occupation’s targeting of civilian facilities." The IDF video also showed an entrance to an underground complex, which according to the IDF led to the Hamas tunnel network. An '' Al-Jazeera'' investigation found that the claimed "tunnel entrance" was instead a hatch for the hospital's water reservoir, which has existed since the hospital's construction. In response to Israel's allegations, Hamas requested the United Nations to form an international committee to inspect hospitals and verify Israel's "false claims" that it uses them to fire rockets.

On November 14, CNN visited what Israel described as a Hamas commanders house, situated between a school and a hospital, and saw a tunnel beneath it that Israel said lead in one direction to the school, and in the other direction to the hospital. Visiting the hospital, Israel showed weapons that they said they found in an armory there, as well as unconfirmed indications that hostages may have been held there. According to ''The New York Times'', the origins of the weapons shown in the video could not be independently verified. Charles Lister, Director of the Counterterrorism and Extremism Program at the Middle East Institute, stated the IDF footage clearly indicated that the basement was a bomb shelter. Mohammed Zaqout, a Gaza Health Ministry official responsible for Gaza's hospitals, stated the basement was a shelter for women and children.

Indiscriminate rocket attacks

The 7 October attack included at least 3,000 rockets aimed toward Israel, with over 8000 being fired since the war began. The rockets hit as far away as Tel Aviv and the outskirts of Jerusalem. Human Rights Watch termed the rocket attacks as indiscriminate. These have included repeated direct strikes on medical facilities, such as the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, including pediatric facilities at the Child Development Institute. Human right organizations and scholars have condemned indiscriminate rocket attacks as a war crime.

Sexual violence and abuse

According to Israeli military forensic teams, During the attacks on Israeli towns on October 7, 2023, there are reports that Hamas militants allegedly raped, assaulted, and mutilated Israeli women and girls. the bodies of the victims of Hamas' October 7 attacks showed multiple signs of rape and abuse. Military personnel reported multiple cases of rape and "severe stages of abuse". Hamas was accused of gender-based violence, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Hamas has denied the allegations of abuse. Shelly Harush, the police officer leading the investigation recounted to the Times on 2 December 2023 "It’s clear now that sexual crimes were part of the planning and the purpose was to terrify and humiliate people".

Hostages who were held by Hamas were sexually abused. Israeli and American officials claim that Hamas refused to release more hostages, ending the ceasefire agreement, to hide further evidence of sexual violence.

Fighting in civilian clothing

Hamas militants often disguise themselves as civilians which is a violation of the international law.

Child soldiers

Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been attempting to recruit volunteers, including children, to fight alongside Hamas against Israel. The use and recruitment of children under 16 is a war crime.

By the Israeli government

Numerous charges of war crimes have been levied against Israel for its actions against civilians. These charges have come from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B'tselem, and human rights groups and experts, including UN rapporteurs. Critics argue the Biden administration has given tacit approval to Israeli war crimes. Antony Blinken indicated the Biden administration has a "high tolerance" for whatever happens in Gaza. On 27 October, the White House stated it had no red lines for Israeli actions.

Indiscriminate attacks

In the first week of the war, the IDF carried out 6,000 airstrikes across Gaza, killing over 3,300 civilians and injuring over 12,000. The strikes hit specifically protected locations, including hospitals, markets, refugee camps, mosques, educational facilities, and entire neighborhoods. A group of UN special rapporteurs asserted Israel's indiscriminate airstrikes are "absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime." Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that "the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy." A '' +972 Magazine'' investigation found the IDF expanded authorization for bombing non-military targets.

On 9 October, the IDF carried out a mass-casualty airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp market. The attack resulted in the deaths of over sixty civilians and extensive damage to the market. As a result of Israeli airstrikes in other areas, displaced individuals sought refuge in the camp, causing the market to be densely populated at the time of the strike.

On the same day, the IDF carried out an airstrike on the densely populated Al-Shati refugee camp. Palestinian media reported that this strike resulted in numerous civilian casualties and the destruction of four mosques, including the al-Gharbi mosque, Yassin mosque, and al-Sousi mosque, all of which were confirmed destroyed by satellite footage. Under the Rome Statute, it is a war crime to intentionally attack places of worship in non-international conflict, as long as they are not "used by a party to a conflict for acts harmful to the enemy". The airstrikes in the Al-Shati refugee camp were described as a "massacre against an entire neighborhood" by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. During two airstrikes on 10 October and 22 October, the IDF used Joint Direct Attack Munitions in attacks described by Amnesty International as "either direct attacks on civilians" or "indiscriminate attacks."

On 17 October, the IDF carried out an airstrike on a UNRWA school sheltering 4,000 refugees in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, killing six and injuring dozens. Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, called the attack "outrageous" and showing "a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians." On 19 October, the Israeli Air Force bombed the Church of Saint Porphyrius, where hundreds of Christians and Muslims were sheltering, killing 16 people. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned it as a "a war crime that cannot be ignored." Following an investigation, Amnesty International stated the church strike was indiscriminate and should be investigated as a war crime. On 24 October, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, after stating Israel had committed "clear violations" of international humanitarian law.

On 1 November, following two airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp, the United Nation Human Rights Office stated, "We have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes." On 3 November, Israel bombed a medical convoy outside Al-Shifa Hospital, claiming it was targeting Hamas. In response, Yanis Varoufakis noted, "Even if the ambulance was carrying a Hamas overlord, bombing it violates the Geneva Convention." UN chief Antonio Guterres stated he was "horrified" by the attack. On November 5, an Israeli airstrike hit a car near Ainata, Lebanon, killing three children and their grandmother, and injuring their mother. The Israeli military admitted to striking the vehicle. Human Rights Watch stated that their killings should be investigated as an apparent war crime. Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, called the attack a “heinous crime” and said that Lebanon would file a complaint to the U.N. Security Council. On 13 November, Israel shelled the Gaza Reconstruction Committee, leading three Arab states to condemn the attack, with Jordan calling it "a heinous war crime to add to Israel’s criminal record."

Collective punishment

Several actions taken by the Israeli army, including its blockade on electricity, food, fuel and water, were characterized as collective punishment, a war crime prohibited by treaty in both international and non-international armed conflicts, more specifically Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II. Israel's president Isaac Herzog accused the residents of Gaza of collective responsibility for the war. Doctors Without Borders international president Christos Christou said millions of civilians in Gaza faced "collective punishment" due to Israel's blockade on fuel and medicine. Tufts University law professor Tom Dannenbaum wrote that the siege order "commands the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, which is a violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime." On 25 October, Oxfam stated Israel's use of "starvation as a method of war" was a violation of international law, and that Gaza was being "collectively punished in full view of the world."

EuroMed Monitor described the situation as a war of starvation against civilians in the Gaza Strip. EuroMed noted living conditions had reached catastrophic levels by Israel cutting off all food supplies to the Northern half, and bombing and destroying factories, bakeries, food stores, water stations, and tanks throughout the entire enclave. EuroMed additionally noted Israel deliberately focused its attacks on targeting electrical generators and solar energy units, on which commercial facilities and restaurants depend, to maintain the minimum possible level of their work. Israel also targeted the agricultural areas east of Gaza, flour stores, and fishermen's boats, as well as relief organizations' centers, including those belonging to the UNRWA. As a result, over 90% of the children in Gaza suffered from varying health issues, including malnutrition, anemia, and weakened immunity.

As part of Israel's blockade on Gaza, all access to water was shut off. Article 51 of the Berlin Rules on Water Resources bars combatants from removing water or water infrastructure to cause death or force its movement. The EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell called Israel's cutting off water, electricity and food as "not in accordance with international law." On 14 October, the UNRWA announced Gaza no longer had clean drinking water, and two million people were at risk of death from dehydration. On 15 October, Israel announced it had resumed supplying water to a single location in southern Gaza to "encourage" movement. Aid workers in Gaza refuted water was available. By 16 October, civilians drank seawater and water contaminated with sewage to survive.

In an interview with ''The New Yorker'', human rights expert Sari Bashi noted the historical uniqueness of Israeli officials openly admitting they are engaging in collective punishment. On 18 October, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated Hamas' attacks "cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people." On 24 October, Human Rights Watch criticized Israel's refusal to allow fuel or water into a Gaza, terming it a war crime. On 29 October, Karim Ahmad Khan stated Israel's impeding aid to Gaza may constitute a crime under the International Criminal Court. On 7 December, Khan again stated "wilfully impeding relief supplies" may constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute.

Human shields

On 10 November 2023, A video released on social media showed the Israeli army using a Palestinian prisoner as a human shield in the Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.

Violations of medical neutrality

Israel is alleged to have broken medical neutrality, a war crime under the Geneva Conventions as hospitals are given special protection under international humanitarian law. According to Gaza officials, the IDF deliberately targeted ambulances and health facilities with airstrikes. In a statement, the Palestine Red Crescent demanded "accountability for this war crime." The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, UNRWA, and Medecins Sans Frontieres reported the deaths of their medical personnel. On 14 October, the World Health Organization said the killing of health care workers and the destruction of health facilities "denies civilians the basic human right of life-saving health" and is prohibited by International Humanitarian Law. On 17 October, WHO stated 51 health facilities had been attacked by Israel. On 4 November, the Gaza Health Ministry stated 105 medical facilities had been deliberately targeted.

On 21 October, the Ministry of Health noted Israel had attacked 69 health facilities, 24 ambulances, put 7 hospitals out of commission, and killed 37 medical staff. Health workers and aid groups said several hospitals in Gaza were hit by airstrikes and shelling. The Palestine Red Crescent Society accused Israel of "deliberately" carrying out airstrikes "directly around" Gaza's second-largest hospital, al-Quds Hospital, in north Gaza, to force them to evacuate the facility. The World Health Organization (WHO) found it impossible to evacuate the hospital. According to CNN, even those who evacuated south have not been safe. On 30 October 2023, a Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, located in the south of Gaza, was struck by a "direct hit", causing damage and injuries.

On 3 November, an Israeli airstrike hit an ambulance convoy departing from al-Shifa Hospital carrying 15-20 critically injured patients. The Israeli military confirmed the strike, claiming one of the ambulances was being used by a "Hamas terrorist cell", and was close to their position. In prior weeks, Israel had released an animated video claiming Al-Shifa hospital contained a hidden, top-secret underground military center. This has been flatly denied, with Hamas stating Israel was using "prefabricated" evidence to pre-empt a military strike on a hospital. Laws of war provide limited protections to medical facilities used in such capacities. Human Rights Watch stated the strikes were apparently unlawful and should be investigated as a possible war crime.

During the Siege of Gaza City, Israeli snipers reportedly fired on the intensive care unit in Al-Quds Hospital, killing one person and wounding 28. Doctors in Al-Shifa Hospital reported snipers at the outskirts of the complex were firing at ”any moving person”. Fabrizio Carbone, the Middle East regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, stated Israel's attacks on al-Shifa Hospital could not continue, stressing patients and hospital staff were "protected in line with the laws of war." In response to the Al-Shifa Hospital siege, Human Rights Watch stated Israel's actions against hospitals need to be investigated as war crimes. Jennifer Cassidy, a legal expert at University of Oxford, stated Israel's siege on al-Shifa was a war crime "plain and simple." Following an Israeli attack on Indonesia Hospital, the Indonesian Foreign Minister called it a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

On 18 November 2023, two people were killed while traveling in a clearly identified Doctors Without Borders evacuation convoy in Gaza City. Doctors Without Borders termed it a "deliberate attack."

Protected status

Israel alleges medical facilities are used to store weapons and have been used as a base of fire, and that hospitals' special protection is lost if that is the case. However, the IDF has not presented hard evidence to support their claims. Israel also does not have the power to unilaterally decide if a hospital has lost protected status. According to International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, the bar for evidence that a hospital, school, or place of worship is being used for military purposes is very high. The burden of proof also lays with the Israelis. Jessica Wolfendale, an expert in military ethics at Case Western Reserve University, stated that even if Israel was able to prove Shifa conceals a military operation, international law remains in place, as, "Steps need to be taken to protect the innocent." A hospital attack would also still be illegal under international law if it harms civilians disproportionately to the military objective.

Ardi Imseis, an international law expert at Queen's University at Kingston, stated, "Until such time that the Israelis provide proof that it has been converted into a military object, the civilian nature of the object does not change." Human Rights Watch stated, "The Israeli government has put forward no evidence that would justify stripping hospitals of their special protections."

Forced evacuation

On 13 October, the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million people from north Gaza, saying that they needed to separate the civilian population from the militants embedded among them, and that the population would be allowed to return after the war. Gazan officials initially asked residents to ignore the order, with the Interior Ministry claiming Israel sought to "displace us once again from our land." The evacuation was characterized as a forcible transfer by Jan Egeland, a Norwegian diplomat involved with the Oslo Accord. Egeland stated, "There are hundreds of thousands of people fleeing for their life — hat isnot something that should be called an evacuation. It is a forcible transfer of people from all of northern Gaza, which according to the Geneva Convention is a war crime." UN Special rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned of a mass ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Israeli historian Raz Segal termed it a "textbook case of genocide." The action was condemned by the UN, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, and the IRC.

On 14 October, the World Health Organization issued a statement condemning Israel's order to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza, calling it a "death sentence." Doctors noted both the southern Gaza Strip's lack of hospital beds and the impossibility of transporting patients, such as newborns in incubators and patients on ventilators. Nevertheless, on 22 October, the IDF dropped leaflets in northern Gaza stating anyone who did not comply with the evacuation would be considered a "terrorist."

Use of white phosphorus on civilians

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International's Crisis Evidence Lab shared evidence that Israeli military units striking in Gaza and Lebanon have employed white phosphorus artillery rounds; Israel denied the report, calling the accusation "unequivocally false". White phosphorus munitions are allowed on battlefields for specific purposes such as creating smokescreens, generating illumination, and marking targets. They are not banned as chemical weapons under international conventions due to these legitimate uses.

White phosphorus is used in smoke, illumination, and incendiary munitions, and ignites when exposed to atmospheric oxygen. Upon contact, it can cause deep and severe injuries, potentially leading to multiple organ failure, and even minor burns can be fatal. White phosphorus is considered an incendiary weapon, and Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons prohibits their use against military targets located among civilians, although Israel is not a signatory. According to Human Rights Watch, the use of white phosphorus is "unlawfully indiscriminate when airburst in populated urban areas, where it can burn down houses and cause egregious harm to civilians", and "violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life." According to Amnesty International weapons investigator Brian Castner, whether this particular case constitutes a war crime depends on "the intended target of this attack, and the intended use," but that, "generally, any attacks that fail to discriminate between civilians and military forces can potentially be a violation of the laws of war." On 31 October, after an investigation, Amnesty International stated that an October 16 Israeli white phosphorus attack was indiscriminate, unlawful, and "must be investigated as a war crime", due to its use on the populated Lebanese town of Dhayra, which injured at least nine civilians. On 2 November, Amnesty International stated its investigations into four incidents on October 10, 11, 16 and 17 showed Israel had used white phosphorus munitions. In Lebanon, Israel's white phosphorus bombs have destroyed over 4.5 million sq m of forest in southern Lebanon with the economic loses being valued at nearly 20 million dollars. An investigation by the ''Washington Post'' uncovered that white phosphorus used in an October attack that injured 9 people in Lebanon were supplied by the US.

Executing surrendered people

Surrendered Palestinians

On 10 October, the Israeli Defence Force published a video that appeared to show IDF soldiers shooting four surrendering Palestinians. Footage analysis indicated the men appeared to be surrendering, with three men getting on the ground with their arms raised, one waving a piece of white clothing. None of them appeared to be armed at the time of the shooting, while a subsequent video showed the bodies had been moved, with weapons placed near them on the ground. The analysis concluded the four men were unarmed Palestinians that left Gaza through a breach in the separation wall. An IDF spokesman said he had no comment. Killing surrendered civilians or combatants is a war crime.

In video footage dated 8 December 2023, the Israeli military is seen killing two Palestinians from the West Bank's Far'a refugee camp in what B'Tselem described as "illegal executions". One man holding a cannister was shot, and was then gunned down while he laid bleeding on the ground. A second man, who was completely unarmed and hiding under a car, was shot and killed instantly. The Israeli military later said they would investigate the attacks.

Surrendered Israeli hostages

On 15 December, the IDF released a statement announcing that they had killed three of their own hostages by friendly fire. According to the Israeli military, they "mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat" during operations in Shuja'iyya