'War crimes' likely by both sides in 2014 Gaza war: UN report

Israelis and Palestinians may have committed war crimes during the deadly Gaza war last year that killed over 2,300 people, according to a much anticipated UN report released on Monday which cited “unprecedented number of civilian victims, including women and children”.

“The scale of the summer 2014 war — it was a very long and violent war and unprecedented number of civilian victims including, women and children,” Doudou Diene, member of the UN Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on the 2014 war said at a Press conference here.

The CoI said it had collected “substantial information” and “credible allegations” that both sides had committed war crimes during the conflict. The 50-day war killed over 2,251 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, and left 11,231 injured, while 73 Israelis, mostly soldiers, also died. 

“The 2014 hostilities saw a huge increase in firepower used in Gaza, with more than 6,000 airstrikes by Israel and approximately 50,000 tank and artillery shells fired. In the 51-day operation, — Palestinian civilians were killed, a third of them children,” the Chair of the Commission Mary McGowan Davis, said in a Press statement.“Palestinian armed groups fired 4,881 rockets and 1,753 mortars towards Israel in July and August 2014, killing 6 civilians and injuring at least 1,600,” Davis said.