Amnesty International accused "all parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" of committing war crimes. In their statement, they called for a ceasefire due to the unprecedented threat to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
"Over the past two and a half weeks, we have witnessed horrific events of an incredible scale in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. More than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip are trying to survive in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and an unprecedented level of civilian casualties. In Gaza, over 6,546 people have been killed, and in Israel, no less than 1,400 people have been killed, with thousands more wounded. Hamas is holding more than 200 people hostage. All parties to the conflict continue to seriously violate the norms of international humanitarian law, up to and including war crimes," said Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard.
Here is a list of their calls:
- Cease illegal attacks, including indiscriminate attacks, direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, and attacks in which the principle of proportionality is not adhered to.
- Israel must immediately allow unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population of the occupied Gaza Strip, lift the 16-year unlawful blockade of Gaza, and immediately admit representatives of an independent commission to investigate events in the occupied Palestinian territory.
- The international community should impose a comprehensive arms embargo on all parties to the conflict, given the seriousness of violations that can be classified as crimes under international law.
- The International Criminal Court should continue its investigation into the situation in Palestine and receive full support and all necessary resources.
- Hamas and all other armed groups should unconditionally and immediately release all civilian hostages and provide all detained persons with humane treatment, including medical assistance.
- Israel must release all arbitrarily detained Palestinians.
- The root causes of the conflict, including the dismantling of Israel's apartheid system against all Palestinians, must be addressed.
Israel's reaction to these statements: Representative of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lior Hayat, stated that Amnesty International is an anti-Semitic organization that holds a biased view towards Israel.
"The organization's silence following the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, where more than 1,400 Israelis, including infants, children, women, and the elderly, were killed, and more than 220 people were abducted in the Gaza Strip, only demonstrates that Amnesty International is a propagandist organization working for Hamas," he said in an interview with POLITICO.
