Israel and Hamas at war | The destruction of civilian buildings, a “war crime”

The extent of the damage caused by Israeli bombings to residences and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip raises questions about the intentions of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of wanting to make the Palestinian territory unlivable.

The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, said on Friday The Press by email that “all available elements” suggest that Israel “deliberately” and “systematically” seeks to maximize the destruction of civilian buildings.

Israeli authorities say the opposite and say they are proceeding with precision and caution to “destroy Hamas” while minimizing the impact on the Palestinian population.

The level of destruction of civilian buildings “makes any return to normal in Gaza extremely difficult, if not impossible, once the conflict is over,” said Mr. Rajagopal, who bases his conclusions on the most recent destruction records and the comments from several Israeli leaders.

“Deliberate targeting of residences is prohibited by international humanitarian law as a war crime,” warns Mr. Rajagopal, who would like to have the notion of “domicide” legally recognized and make it a “crime against humanity” in its own right. .

Large-scale destruction of this type is not new, but it is becoming “more and more frequent” in wars due to the growing urbanization of populations, underlines the UN representative, who mentions the examples of Mariupol, in Ukraine. , and Aleppo, Syria.

Revealing data

Two American researchers who analyzed the impact of the bombing campaign in Gaza using satellite images came to the conclusion that between 29 and 37% of buildings in the Palestinian territory have been damaged or destroyed over the past two months, or between 82 500 and 105,300.

“As a guide, the island of Manhattan, where I live, has around 45,000 buildings… We have identified the equivalent of two Manhattans of buildings affected in Gaza, although they are obviously different sizes in the two places” , illustrated Corey Scher, of the Central University of New York.

The percentage of buildings affected is higher in the northern Gaza Strip, where the bombing campaign began. It reaches between 56 and 69%.

The numbers are now rising almost as quickly to the south, in the Khan Yunis region, where the Israeli army has intensified its actions over the past week, said Jamon Van Den Hoeck of Oregon State University, who works with Mr. Scher.

“Indiscriminate” campaign

Robert Pape, a professor at the University of Chicago who has studied the history of bombings, noted a few days ago in Foreign Affairs that Gaza must now be added to the “infamous” list of places destroyed by “indiscriminate” campaigns.

These campaigns, he warns, were often designed to encourage the affected population to rise up against their leaders, but never worked, notably when the Allies bombed German cities during World War II.

The final effect in Gaza could be to strengthen public support for Hamas, the researcher adds.

Kobi Michael, an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, notes that warnings of this nature “have no effect” on the resolve of the Israeli government.

“The international community is biased against Israel,” notes the researcher, insisting that the army respects international law and seeks by all means to avoid causing innocent civilian victims or unduly damaging civilian infrastructure. .

The real person responsible for the ongoing destruction is Hamas, which does not hesitate, he says, to use civilians as human shields to complicate the task of the Israeli army.

“We will complete the mission,” notes Mr. Michael, who expects the current operation in Khan Younes to last around ten days.

“It is the second most important operational center for Hamas after Gaza City. We will probably then target Rafah before starting to send back reservists,” notes the researcher. He expects the army to keep a large contingent there to “clean up” residual Hamas forces for several more months.

The role of the international community

In an ideal scenario, notes Mr. Michael, Israel would then cede control of the territory to Arab countries allied with Tel Aviv who could, in concert with the United States, oversee it until a functional government can be reestablished and the reconstructed buildings.

Béatrice Vaugrante, who heads Oxfam-Québec, thinks that the international community must raise its voice to obtain a ceasefire as quickly as possible rather than letting the confrontation take its course.

The Israelis, she said, cannot maintain that they are “being careful” when civilian deaths and injuries number in the tens of thousands and nearly 80 percent of Gaza’s population has been forced to abandon their accommodation.

The destruction of a significant percentage of residential buildings adds to the seriousness of the situation, notes the spokesperson for the humanitarian organization, which is currently studying the legal scope of the large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure.

“International law does not exist just to be framed on the walls,” concludes M.^me Vaugrante.