Justice and accountability for grave violations by the Israeli military against Palestinian children during last summer’s war in the Gaza Strip have yet to be found despite well documented evidence, a rights group said Wednesday.Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) independently verified the deaths of 547 Palestinian children among the over 2,200 killed in Gaza, 535 of them as a direct result of Israeli attacks during the war that began one year ago today and lasted until August 26.“Systemic impunity has enabled Israel to continue its oppressive policies in Gaza where children undoubtedly remain targets,” said Khaled Quzmar, DCIP’s general director, adding that 68 percent of the children killed by Israeli forces were 12 years old or younger.DCIP reported that not a single perpetrator has been held accountable for any of the deaths and stressed that the current status quo of impunity for members of Israel’s military forces sustains current policies, which disproportionately affect Palestinian children.
Evidence collected by DCIP suggests that Israeli forces directly targeted children during last summer’s war, revealing several locations that should have provided children with shelter and safety but were, in practice, not immune from attacks by Israeli forces.The rights group recorded 164 children killed in drone strikes during the offensive, many of which directly targeted schools and homes.In response to accusations of using indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian homes, schools, and residential neighborhoods, Israeli and United States authorities have argued the military took extreme precautions to avoid civilian casualties, while the Hamas movement deliberately used Gazans as “human shields” to defend strategic militarized areas.DCIP joins rights groups internationally to mark one year since the start of last summer’s Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip. In addition to the outflow of such reports, the United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this month voted to a adopt a UN report on last summer’s war.The UN Commission of Inquiry on Gaza conflict reported in June that it had gathered “credible allegations” that both Israeli and Palestinian sides had committed war crimes during the conflict
The UNHRC resolution welcomed the report on July 3, calling for “the implementation of all recommendations” included in it.
It noted the importance of the information the commission collected for supporting “future accountability efforts, in particular, information on alleged perpetrators of violations of international law.”The United States was the only member to vote against the resolution and five countries abstained.In response to efforts shown through the UNHRC resolution, attorney and international advocacy officer at DCIP Brad Parker emphasized the necessity for signatories to follow through.“Repeated Israeli military offensives and Israel’s complete disregard for international law have thwarted any meaningful efforts toward implementing comprehensive protections for Palestinian children,” he said.“In order to end impunity and increase protections for children, individual states must take concrete action to challenge the status quo of systemic impunity.”