An Israeli airstrike on a hospital in Gaza has killed five people, including a Hamas political leader and Palestinian medics, Hamas has said, in an attack that Israel said had targeted a key figure in the militant group.
The Gaza health ministry said the strike hit the surgery department at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. The Israeli military said its attack followed extensive intelligence and used precise munitions to minimise harm at the site.
Hamas said a member of its political office, Ismail Barhoum, had been killed.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, confirmed the target was Barhoum. The military did not name the target, which it described only as “a key terrorist” in Hamas.
Dude, the target was a civilian, a non-combatant. Killing non-combatants is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions
Killing members of a government at war is something else than killing civilians.
They’re still civilians. Only enemy combatants can be killled under international law. Otherwise I assume that you’d be okay if Hamas planned a suicide bombing inside the Knesset? And also, even if he was a legal target, he enjoys the same protection as other wounded do if he’s being treated at a hospital.
The Knesset also contains people opposed to the war. I don’t see how such an attack would bring a military advantage.
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule8
Killing Hamas civilian leaders in charge of internal security, meaning they also hunt Israeli spies, would bring an obvious military advantage.
Attacking the Israeli defense ministry or border police, the prime minister, or the cabinet could be justified as giving a military advantage.
Now, I’m not sure if civilian leadership of the armed forces count as combatants or not. However an attack should be covered by the above. IANAL of course.
Don’t get me wrong. Israel certainly commits war crimes, I’m not sure this was one.
First off that quote is talking about objects, not people. These rules are more stringent for people because they’re people.
The Hamas political office also might.
Knesset is also in charge of internal security through the ministers they appoint. That aside it would help cause domestic chaos, which would be a definite military advantage.
Don’t get me wrong it’s a war crime either way because it’s an attack on a wounded person on a hospital (it would be unequivocally a war crime for Hamas to kill, say, Ben Gvir if he was being treatrd in a hospital); we’re talking about whether killing that person was in and of its own a war crime.