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- Human Rights Watch says Israeli airstrikes during the May conflict may amount to war crimes.
- The accusation comes after the rights group on August 12 said Hamas attacks were likely war crimes.
- The May conflict left 260 Palestinians and 12 Israelis dead.
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The Israeli military's airstrikes on high-rise towers in Gaza City in May may have violated the laws of war and amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.
"The apparently unlawful Israeli strikes on four high-rise towers in Gaza City caused serious, lasting harm for countless Palestinians who lived, worked, shopped, or benefitted from businesses based there," Richard Weir, a crisis and conflict researcher at the NGO, said in a statement. "The Israeli military should publicly produce the evidence that it says it relied on to carry out these attacks."
The accusation comes following an August 12 report from Human Rights Watch that said rocket and mortar attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas likely violated the laws of war and could amount to war crimes.
"Palestinian armed groups during the May fighting flagrantly violated the laws-of-war prohibition on indiscriminate attacks by launching thousands of unguided rockets towards Israeli cities," Eric Goldstein, the group's acting Middle East and North Africa director, said in that release. "The failure of both Hamas authorities and the Israeli government to provide accountability for alleged war crimes by their forces highlights the essential role of the International Criminal Court."
The May conflict left 260 Palestinians and 12 Israelis dead, in the region's worst violence since 2014.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
