• New investigation reveals Israeli forces failed to take all possible precautions to spare civilians during attacks
• Israel used US-made weapons in airstrikes on Rafah displacement camp on 26 May
• Tank shells fired at displacement camp in ‘humanitarian zone’ killed 23 civilians
• Presence of Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders and fighters in displacement camps puts civilians at risk

A new Amnesty International investigation reveals Israeli forces failed to take all possible precautions to avoid or minimise harm to civilians living in displacement camps during two attacks targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders and fighters Islamic Jihad in the southern occupied Gaza Strip in May. The attacks were likely indiscriminate, and one was probably disproportionate. Both attacks should be investigated as war crimes.

On 26 May 2024, two Israeli airstrikes on the “Kuwaiti Peace Camp,” a makeshift camp for displaced people in Tal al-Sultan, west of Rafah, killed at least 36 people—including six children—and injured more than 100. At least four of those killed were fighters. The airstrikes, which targeted two Hamas commanders among displaced civilians, used US-made GBU-39 guided bombs. The use of such munitions, which project deadly fragments over a wide area, against a camp housing civilians in overcrowded temporary shelters likely constitutes a disproportionate and indiscriminate attack, and should be investigated as a war crime.

In the second attack under investigation on 28 May, the Israeli army fired at least three tank shells into the Al Mawasi neighbourhood of Rafah, which it had itself designated as part of the “humanitarian zone”. The attack killed 23 civilians – 12 children, seven women and four men – and injured many more. Amnesty International’s research has found that the alleged targets of the attack were a Hamas fighter and an Islamic Jihad fighter. This attack, which did not discriminate between civilians and military targets given the use of unguided munitions in an area sheltering many civilians in tents, was likely indiscriminate and should be investigated as a war crime. Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters were present in the camp, which the displaced people believed to be a “humanitarian zone”, deliberately endangering the lives of civilians. The choice to relocate to these two displacement camps likely constitutes a breach of the obligation to avoid, as far as possible, placing fighters in densely populated areas. Amnesty International has no information on the reasons or motivations for their presence, but all parties to the conflict should have taken all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects.

“While these strikes may have targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders and fighters, displaced Palestinian civilians seeking refuge and safety have once again paid with their lives,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International.

“The Israeli military could not have been unaware that using bombs that project deadly shrapnel hundreds of metres and unguided tank shells would kill and injure large numbers of civilians living in overcrowded, unprotected conditions. It could and should have taken every precaution to avoid, or at least minimise, harm to civilians.” “The avoidable deaths and injuries of civilians are a tragic reminder that, under international humanitarian law, the presence of fighters in the target area does not exempt the Israeli military from its obligation to protect civilians.

“All parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to protect civilians. This includes the obligation for Hamas and other armed groups to avoid, where possible, placing military objectives and fighters in or near densely populated areas.”

Amnesty International interviewed 14 survivors and witnesses, studied the sites of the attacks, visited a hospital in Khan Younis where the wounded were being treated, photographed remnants of munitions used to identify them, and reviewed satellite imagery of the sites. The organization also examined statements made by the Israeli military about the attacks.

On 24 June 2024, it sent questions about these two attacks to the Israeli authorities. On 5 July 2024, it also sent questions to the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice of the de facto Hamas government about the presence of commanders and fighters in these civilian areas. At the time of publication, it had not yet received a response.

Strikes on the “Kuwaiti Peace Camp”

On the afternoon of Sunday, 26 May, Hamas claimed responsibility for a series of indiscriminate attacks launched on Tel Aviv using long-range, indiscriminate rockets from Rafah. The Israeli military stated that these rockets were intercepted by the so-called “Iron Dome” air defense system, and no casualties were reported.

At 20:45, it dropped two bombs on the “Kuwaiti Peace Camp” and announced that it had “struck a Hamas position in Rafah from which senior Hamas terrorists were operating.” It then issued an update saying that it had killed two senior Hamas military commanders: Yassin Rabie and Khaled Najjar. However, it later emerged that Khaled Najjar had been wounded and not killed. A military commander in Hamas’s Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades – Khuweiled Ramadan – was also killed, as were at least two other Hamas fighters whose identities Amnesty International has not been able to verify. The killings of Yassin Rabie and Khuweiled Ramadan were confirmed by the Gaza Health Ministry and by eulogies. The Israeli military claimed that the strikes were carried out with “the minimum amount of munitions that can be dropped by fighter jets.” Based on photographs of bomb remains taken by Amnesty International’s field team, the organization’s weapons experts identified the munitions as US-made GBU-39s. These bombs have an explosive charge of 17 kilograms. Each bomb, weighing 113 kilograms in total, is capable of scattering metal fragments hundreds of meters away. The Israeli military has smaller, more precise missiles carried by drones, which contain much less explosives and have a shorter range. By using long-range explosive munitions against a camp for displaced people, while possessing munitions that cover a smaller area, the Israeli military likely failed to take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimize incidental harm to civilians and civilian objects.

Furthermore, the strikes of 26 May were likely disproportionate. In determining whether an attack is disproportionate, the laws of war provide that a strike is prohibited if the harm it is likely to cause to the civilian population is excessive in relation to the direct military advantage anticipated. For many of the attacks, Amnesty International was unable to identify the target, preventing it from assessing proportionality. The Israeli military indicated that two Hamas commanders were targeted in this attack. The anticipated civilian harm should have been known to those planning it. The “Kuwaiti Peace Camp” in Tal al-Sultan had been in operation for at least four months and, therefore, the Israeli military could not have been unaware that a large number of displaced civilians were located there. Given that civilians were living in makeshift shelters that offered no protection, and given the choice to use two GBU-39 bombs, the heavy civilian toll was predictable. Clearly, this risked being excessive in relation to the direct military advantage that was expected.

The maps published by the Israeli military on 6 May modified the boundaries of the “humanitarian zone”, notably by removing Tal al-Sultan, which had been considered part of this zone for months. However, this removal was not properly communicated to civilians, who therefore remained there. The maps of the “humanitarian zones” published by the Israeli military, often confusing and contradictory, therefore do not constitute effective warnings.

The Israeli military has stated, including in its responses to the media, that it is “investigating” the strikes. Consistent documentation from Israeli and international human rights organizations has shown that the Israeli military has failed to effectively and impartially investigate, through its own internal mechanisms, alleged violations of international humanitarian law against Palestinian civilians.

“There were a huge number of deaths”

Several of the civilians killed or injured in the strikes on the “Kuwaiti Peace Camp” were hit by metal fragments, including a toddler and a young woman, who were decapitated. Other victims suffered deep cuts and fractured limbs. The majority of civilian casualties confirmed by Amnesty International were hit by bomb fragments, while others were severely burned. Another body was burned beyond recognition.

Among the civilians killed on 26 May were five members of the Al Attar family. Displaced from northern Gaza during the war, they had been living in the camp for four months. Their shelter was right next to the ones of the Hamas commanders who were targeted, but surviving relatives told Amnesty International that they were unaware that the men in the neighbouring shelter were part of an armed group. Lina al Attar, 21, was injured in the strikes. Her mother, aunt, sister-in-law, grandfather and uncle were all killed. She told Amnesty International: “We were in a safe place for displaced people, just metal shelters and tents, no houses nearby or wanted people. It was a green [safe] zone on the maps dropped by the Israeli army […]. After the Maghreb prayer, we sat talking, relaxed because we could not hear any drones or shelling.

“I did not hear the missile [...]. My brother lifted the pieces of metal that had fallen on me [...]. He had been injured in the hand and also in the shoulder by shrapnel [...]. I managed to lift the other pieces of metal to free us, and I saw everyone on the ground, their bodies torn to pieces in pools of blood.

“My mother was dead. My father was screaming for help. My brother’s wife was killed right where she was sitting with her baby in her arms. I took the baby and gave it to my father. Then I took my little girl off my husband’s lap because he was injured. We managed to escape, but there were so many dead people all around us.”

The strikes were followed by a fire that left more dead and injured. Amnesty International weapons experts analysed footage filmed on site and posted online by residents immediately after the strikes and concluded that the size and intensity of the fire was likely caused by cooking fuel stored at the site hit by Israeli bombs.

A person displaced from northern Gaza since November 2023 told Amnesty International: “I was 30-40 metres from the bombing […] I heard two huge bombings in a row and then a huge fire started.

“I heard people screaming and I lay down on the ground. I still shake when I think about it. I saw people burning. We have survived bombings but I have never seen anything like this […] We were looking for safety, we just want to live, and we are lost again.”

“They were killed in cold blood”: the Al Mawasi strike

On Tuesday 28 May, at approximately 2:45pm, the Israeli army fired at least three tank shells at an area of the Al-Mawasi neighbourhood in Rafah, which it has designated for months as part of Gaza’s “humanitarian zone”. The attack killed 23 people and injured many more.

Amnesty International’s research has established that two fighters – one from Hamas and one from Palestinian Islamic Jihad – were staying in tents near displaced civilians, close to where the strikes were taking place. These fighters may have been the real targets of the strikes. Another source told Amnesty International that fighters were travelling in a jeep in the area at the same time and that the strikes narrowly missed them. The organization has not been able to determine whether these fighters were the same fighters who were staying in the tents.

Its weapons experts analysed photographs of fragments of the munitions used, which they identified as 120mm tank shells. Satellite imagery indicates that there were Israeli military positions within range of a 120mm cannon on the morning of the attack.

Two of the shells hit the outer wall and patio of the Al Hams family home, killing Beesan, aged seven, and his brother Saleh, aged five. Another civilian, Ibrahim al Ghaffari, aged 63, was also killed.

Mohammad Salah al Hams, the children’s uncle, told Amnesty International: “Saleh and Beesan had come to visit their maternal grandfather. After lunch, they came out of the family home to throw away the rubbish. They had been outside for about 40 to 90 seconds when the shells hit, within seconds of each other. I was nearby and rushed home.” Their father came out and ran to Saleh, who was lying there. He had been hit in the head [...]. Beesan had been thrown into a nearby tent by the force of the blast. She was seriously injured and was rushed to hospital, but she died.”

A few minutes later, another tank shell hit a nearby camp, killing 20 displaced civilians, including 10 children, seven women and three men.

Isra Ali (33), a displaced woman from Shujaiyah, Gaza, lost her husband, Ashraf Mohammed Ali (42), a taxi driver, and her son Amir (11).

She told Amnesty International: “I was preparing a simple lunch for my family when I heard noises in the distance, one after the other. I didn’t really pay attention to it because we are used to hearing shelling and beatings, but a few minutes later… I heard a deafening noise. The first thing I saw after that were pieces, bodies of people in a thousand pieces. The tents were not damaged, but children, including my son Amir, were blown to pieces. I don’t know why this place was targeted.

“Now my husband is gone, my little boy is gone. Where will I go with my children? How will we survive? My family has been broken; my husband, the only breadwinner in the family, has been killed. I don’t feel safe here, but I don’t know how to cope or what to do.”

The Israeli military did not provide any explanation for the attack but later stated that, “contrary to reports in the previous hours, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] did not strike the Al Mawasi humanitarian area.”

After the strikes, some residents challenged the two fighters to leave the area, reflecting growing anger in Gaza over the endangerment of civilians by armed groups. However, the fighters remained, leading the entire population of the area – both displaced and residents – to leave a few days later.

Obligations of Israel, Hamas and other armed groups under international humanitarian law

The concentration of civilians in small parts of Gaza has only increased as a result of successive waves of mass displacement, as well as Israel’s ongoing illegal blockade, which restricts the movement of people seeking safety outside Gaza. It is therefore all the more important that parties to the conflict strictly adhere to the provisions of international humanitarian law that aim to protect civilians from the effects of military operations.

The presence of military objectives does not exempt Israeli forces from their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the duty to respect the principles of distinction and proportionality, as well as the obligation to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians.

The principle of distinction, a fundamental concept of international humanitarian law, requires parties to distinguish in all circumstances between military objectives and civilians or civilian objects, and to direct their attacks only against the former.

In addition to prohibiting attacks directed at civilians, international humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate attacks, i.e. attacks that are likely to strike indiscriminately at military objectives and civilians or civilian objects. The precautionary principle requires parties to conflict to take constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects, including by taking all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any case to minimize, incidental harm to the civilian population and civilian objects.

International humanitarian law also prohibits disproportionate attacks, i.e. attacks that may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination of these, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.

Parties must also take all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects under their control from the effects of attacks.

For Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fighting in Gaza, this includes the obligation to avoid, to the extent possible, locating military objectives and fighters in or near densely populated areas, including shelters for displaced persons. Warring parties are required, inter alia, to verify that their targets are indeed military objectives; to select appropriate weapons and tactics to avoid or minimise incidental harm to the civilian population and civilian objects in the vicinity of the intended military objective; to assess the extent to which the attack is likely to be disproportionate and, if necessary, to cancel or suspend it; and to provide adequate and effective warning to civilians, unless circumstances do not permit.

International law prohibits the intentional use of human shields, i.e. using the presence of civilians or other protected persons to shield areas from military attack. Amnesty International has not been able to establish whether the presence of combatants in the camps was intended to protect them from military attack. In any event, under international humanitarian law, even if one party uses “human shields” or otherwise unlawfully endangers civilians, this does not exempt the opposing party from its obligations to distinguish between military objectives and civilians or civilian objects, to refrain from indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, and to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians and civilian objects. Background

Before the ground incursion began on 7 May 2024, Rafah hosted more than 1.2 million people from areas further north who had been forcibly displaced since 13 October 2023, when the Israeli military first ordered a mass “evacuation” of the population of northern Gaza. Around 85 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once, and many have been displaced multiple times. It is now estimated that more than 1 million Palestinians have been displaced from Rafah following the expansion of Israeli military operations in the area.

Since October 2023, Amnesty International has extensively documented 16 Israeli airstrikes that have killed 370 civilians, including 159 children, and injured hundreds. It has documented war crimes committed by Israeli forces, including direct or indiscriminate attacks on civilians or civilian objects, as well as other unlawful attacks and collective punishment against the civilian population. The organization has called on the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to expedite his investigation into the situation in Palestine, and is campaigning for an immediate ceasefire. On 7 October 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched indiscriminate rocket attacks and deployed fighters into southern Israel, committing war crimes including the deliberate killings of civilians and hostage-taking. According to Israeli authorities, around 1,200 people have been killed. Amnesty International has called for Hamas and other armed groups to be held accountable for the deliberate killings, abductions and indiscriminate attacks. Amnesty International calls for the immediate release of all civilian hostages held in Gaza. Hostage-taking is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime.