Israeli soldiers shot and killed 11 Palestinian civilians who were waving white flags, Human Rights Watch said Thursday in a report on the Gaza war. “The Israeli military should conduct thorough, credible investigations into these deaths to tackle the prevailing culture of impunity,” the New York-based organisation said in a 63-page report. It pointed out that the 11, four of them children, were only a small fraction of the total death toll in the December-January 2009 Israeli offensive. Palestinian medics and human rights groups say more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed, including more than 400 children aged under 16. “However, these (11) deaths stand out because the civilians were in groups waving a white cloth, T-shirt or scarf, and no Palestinian fighters were in the area at the time,” the HRW said. “Under the laws of war, individuals who carry out or order deliberate attacks on civilians are responsible for war crimes.” The Israeli military dismissed the report saying it was based “upon the testimony of a number of Palestinians whose credibility has not been substantiated.” It also claimed Hamas used Palestinians holding up white flags “as cover for belligerent action and to protect themselves from return fire.” “Merely displaying a white flag does not automatically grant immunity,” it said adding that soldiers are authorized to “neutralize the threat” if a person holding a white flag was endangering them. The military pointed out it was investigating a number of incidents but said that evidence so far showed its soldiers “acted in accordance with the rule of war as defined by international law despite the complex nature of combat.” On the Israeli side, three civilians and 10 soldiers died in the combat and rocket strikes, according to official figures at the end of the offensive. In one of the cases mentioned in the HRW report, two women and three children were standing in front of their home after a soldier ordered them outside.
