{"id":228,"date":"2009-01-21T01:24:03","date_gmt":"2009-01-20T19:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iqsoft.co.in\/wordpress\/?p=228"},"modified":"2009-01-21T01:24:03","modified_gmt":"2009-01-20T19:54:03","slug":"amnesty-international-accuses-israel-of-war-crimes-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/amnesty-international-accuses-israel-of-war-crimes-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Amnesty International accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span style=\"font-weight:normal;\">By Middle East correspondent Ben Knight and wires<\/span><\/h1>\n<p class=\"published\">Posted\u00a0<span class=\"timestamp\">Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:06am AEDT<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\nUpdated\u00a0<span class=\"timestamp\">Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:56am AEDT<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"storyRelatedMedia\">\n<div id=\"storyPhotos\" class=\"photo\"><a id=\"storyPhotosLink\" href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/reslib\/200901\/r329198_1481599.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Indiscriminate use of any weapon in densely populated areas can be the basis of war crimes charges.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/reslib\/200901\/r329198_1481603.jpg\" alt=\"Indiscriminate use of any weapon in densely populated areas can be the basis of war crimes charges.\" width=\"285\" height=\"190\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"caption\">Indiscriminate use of any weapon in densely populated areas can be the basis of war crimes charges. (AFP: Patrick Baz, file photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"related\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"expandable\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/reslib\/200901\/r331710_1496734.asx\"><strong>Video:\u00a0<\/strong>Gaza ceasefire holding\u00a0<span class=\"source\">(ABC News)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"expandable\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mpegmedia.abc.net.au\/news\/audio\/am\/200901\/20090120-am05-war-is-over.mp3\"><strong>Audio:\u00a0<\/strong>Uneasy Gaza ceasefire holds\u00a0<span class=\"source\">(AM)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"first\">Human rights group Amnesty International has accused Israel of war crimes, saying its use of white phosphorus in Gaza was indiscriminate and illegal.<\/p>\n<p>White phosphorous is frequently used to produce smoke screens, but can also be used as a weapon as it causes extreme burns if it makes contact with skin.<\/p>\n<p>The use of the substance is not illegal under international law, but the indiscriminate use of any weapon in densely populated areas can be the basis of war crimes charges.<\/p>\n<p>Israel has said it will carry out an internal investigation into the use of white phosphorous following similar claims by other rights groups.<\/p>\n<p>Medics in Gaza say over 1,300 Palestinians were killed during the offensive.<\/p>\n<p>Four thousand homes have been reduced to ruins and tens of thousands of people are homeless.<\/p>\n<p>A UN official says 500,000 people have been without water since the bombardment began on December 27 and huge numbers are without power.<\/p>\n<p>A continuing ceasefire in Gaza has allowed more Israeli forces to leave the Gaza Strip and Palestinians to return to their damaged homes.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli political sources say most troops will be out of the territory by about midday (AEDT).<\/p>\n<p>Bulldozers are beginning to clear rubble from streets and Palestinians have started returning to what is left of their homes to salvage clothes and food.<\/p>\n<p>Police are back on the streets directing traffic; shopkeepers are frying felafels. But Gaza&#8217;s return to life is slow as people come to terms with the scale of the destruction after three weeks of war.<\/p>\n<p>Homes and farms have been destroyed, and thousands remain injured. The head of the World Health Organisation is now warning that Gaza is exposed to outbreaks of disease.<\/p>\n<p>Aid agencies are beginning to assess the immediate needs of the territory, as well as what it will take to rebuild it; but until the terms of a permanent ceasefire are agreed, any reconstruction will be on hold.<\/p>\n<p>Hamas has vowed to replenish its weapons arsenal and increase its capabilities but Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev has dismissed the threats.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Over the last few weeks, Israel has hit and hit hard the Hamas military machine, causing the substantial disintegration of their military capabilities,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Despite the bravado one is hearing from Hamas leaders, it&#8217;s clear that they will think twice and three times. They&#8217;ll think very carefully before launching again rockets, into Israeli cities trying to kill our people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;\u00a0<strong>ABC\/BBC<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"tags\"><strong>Tags:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/tag\/world-politics\">world-politics<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/tag\/unrest-conflict-and-war\">unrest-conflict-and-war<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/tag\/israel\">israel<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/tag\/palestinian-territories\">palestinian-territories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Middle East correspondent Ben Knight and wires Posted\u00a0Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:06am AEDT\u00a0 Updated\u00a0Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:56am AEDT Indiscriminate use of any weapon in densely populated areas can be the basis of war crimes charges. (AFP: Patrick Baz, file photo) Video:\u00a0Gaza ceasefire holding\u00a0(ABC News) Audio:\u00a0Uneasy Gaza ceasefire holds\u00a0(AM) Human rights group Amnesty International [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[148],"class_list":["post-228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gaza-palestine-islam-islam","tag-amnesty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iqsoft.in\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}