GAZA, Palestine
Palestinian faction Hamas stated early Monday that Israel has tried to mislead international judicial bodies by reducing the number of civilians killed in its report on the military operation launched last year in the Gaza Strip.
A report published by the Israeli Foreign Ministry -- “Gaza report” -- concerning Israel’s 51-day military offensive against the blockaded Gaza Strip last summer, accused Hamas of committing war crimes. Another report by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR is expected to be published this week.
“The claims in this report are all a lie,” said Hamas in a written statement.
The Palestinian faction criticized the report and said that Israel had stated inaccurate figures regarding the number of Palestinians killed during the attacks.
“According to Israel’s report, 44 percent of those killed were militants, whereas the percentage of militants killed was less than 20 percent," Hamas said.
Hamas stated that hundreds were killed by Israel’s advanced missiles and requested the international community not to take the “lie” under consideration.
Israel's report stated that at least 2,125 Palestinians were killed, while "at least 936 of these fatalities (at least 44% of the total) have been positively identified by the Israel Defense Forces as militants affiliated with Hamas and other terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip". Israel classified 36 percent of those killed, i.e. 761 people, as civilians. The remaining 428 people, males aged between 16 and 50, have yet to be classified.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke to the press before his meeting Monday with Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna in Jerusalem, argued that the “Gaza report” confirmed that Israeli military action had been carried out in accordance with international law.
“Our army was using its right to self-defense,” said Netanyahu. “Hamas was using civilians as human shields, as well as attacking Israeli civilians.”
Netanyahu claimed that Hamas had thus "committed a double war crime”, through its actions, while the Israeli army did everything it could “to prevent civilian casualties”.
In July 2014, Israel launched a weeks-long offensive into the Gaza Strip, with the stated aim of staunching rocket fire from the blockaded coastal enclave.
Over 2,160 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed and some 11,000 injured in the offensive, which finally ended with a cease-fire deal signed in August, according to the UN.
At least 73 Israelis -- 68 soldiers and five civilians -- were also killed during the offensive, which also saw 2,522 Israelis injured, including 740 military personnel.
