in January 2025 In the first two days of the war, the
Israeli Air Force attacked 1,500 targets in Gaza.
Ynet reported that Netanyahu then demanded to know why they hadn't hit 5,000, saying "I'm not interested in targets ... Take down houses, bomb with everything you have." In the first week of the war, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out 6,000 airstrikes across Gaza, killing over 3,300 civilians and injuring over 12,000 people. The strikes hit specifically protected locations, including hospitals, markets, refugee camps, mosques, educational facilities, and entire neighbourhoods. A group of
UN special rapporteurs asserted that Israel's airstrikes are indiscriminate and amount to
collective punishment. They stated that these airstrikes are "absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime". During two airstrikes on 10 and 22 October 2023, the IDF used
Joint Direct Attack Munitions in attacks described by Amnesty International as
"either direct attacks on civilians" or
"indiscriminate attacks". On 24 October, UN Secretary-General
António Guterres called for an immediate
ceasefire, after stating Israel had committed "clear violations" of international humanitarian law. On 13 November 2023, Israel shelled the Gaza Reconstruction Committee, leading three Arab states to condemn the attack, with
Jordan calling it "a heinous war crime to add to Israel's criminal record." On 12 January 2024, the spokesperson for the
Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights stated Israel's attacks were failing to account for distinction, proportionality and precautions, thus leaving Israel exposed to liability for war crimes. In February 2024, the IDF bombed and destroyed the Belgium government's Gaza development office. In response, Belgium summoned the Israeli ambassador and condemned the "destruction of civilian infrastructure" as a violation of international law. On 6 February, the UN stated an Israeli assault on
Rafah could lead to war crimes. On 22 March 2024, Al Jazeera released a video retrieved from an Israeli drone showing four unarmed Palestinians in
Khan Younis who were killed by Israeli air attacks. Two were killed instantly, and the others were killed while trying to stumble and crawl away. Al-Jazeera reported that "it is clear from the pictures that these Palestinians were unarmed and posed no threat to anything or anyone". This footage was described by the UN's special rapporteur
Francesca Albanese as a part of the "colossal amount of evidence" of war crimes committed in Gaza by Israel. According to the IDF, they had encountered militants in civilian clothes retrieving previously hidden weapons in that area. Amnesty International called Israel's indiscriminate attacks illegal and a violation of international law. Secretary General of Amnesty International
Agnès Callamard said the 16-year-old "illegal
blockade has made Gaza the world's biggest open-air prison", and the international community must now act to avert it from becoming a giant cemetery. Human Rights Watch reported that Israel has completely shut down communications and put lives at risk in Gaza by carrying out relentless airstrikes and damage to the main communications infrastructure, electricity cuts, fuel blockades, and deliberate shutdowns through technical measures.
Deborah Brown, senior technology researcher at Human Rights Watch, said a deliberate shutdown, or restriction of Internet access, is a human rights violation and can be deadly during a crisis. A complete disruption of communications, such as that experienced in Gaza, can provide cover for crimes and impunity, while further undermining humanitarian efforts and putting lives at risk. Following reports about Israel's use of
automated systems for target selection, experts in international humanitarian law stated they were alarmed by accounts that the IDF authorized killing up to 20 uninvolved civilians for getting a single militant, even if they were low-ranking or had low military importance. In May 2024, Amnesty International called for war crimes investigations into three Israeli airstrikes that had killed 44 civilians. The same month, following the
Al-Mawasi refugee camp attack, Finnish Foreign Minister
Elina Valtonen stated that the orders of the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) and international humanitarian law must be respected. In June 2024,
UNRWA chief
Philippe Lazzarini termed the destruction of UNRWA's Gaza headquarters as "blatant disregard of international humanitarian law". In June 2024,
Doctors Without Borders suggested Israel was violating international humanitarian law, stating, "We can no longer accept the statement that Israel is taking 'all precautions'". The
European Union warned Israel in August 2024 that "targeting critical life-saving infrastructure constitutes a war crime". The IDF stated it would investigate whether there was a breach of international law following an army commanders' order to destroy a water reservoir in Rafah.
Refugee camps On 9 October 2023, the IDF carried out a mass-casualty airstrike on the
Jabalia refugee camp market. As a result of Israeli airstrikes in other areas, displaced individuals sought refuge in the camp, causing the market to be densely populated at the time of the strike. An airstrike on 31 October 2023 that killed 106 civilians near the
Nuseirat refugee camp was deemed an apparent war crime by Human Rights Watch. On 1 November, following two airstrikes on the
Jabalia refugee camp, the United Nations Human Rights Office stated, "We have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes." On the same day, the IDF carried out an airstrike on the densely populated
Al-Shati refugee camp. Palestinian media reported that this strike resulted in numerous civilian casualties and the destruction of four mosques, including the al-Gharbi mosque, Yassin mosque, and al-Sousi mosque, all of which were confirmed destroyed by satellite footage. The airstrikes in the Al-Shati camp were described as a
"massacre against an entire neighborhood" by the
Ministry of Health. On 24 December 2023, 68 people were killed in an
airstrike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. According to
Al Jazeera, the vast majority of victims were civilians. They also noted that the camp was one of the areas the IDF had previously told Gazans to evacuate to. Hamas called the attack a "massacre" and a "war crime". Israel later determined that incorrect munitions were used in the attack and expressed regret that non-combatants were harmed.
Schools and shelters On 17 October 2023, an Israeli airstrike hit a
UNRWA school sheltering 4,000 refugees in the
Al-Maghazi refugee camp, killing six and injuring dozens.
Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, called it "outrageous" and said that it showed "a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians". The UN accused Israel of lethally bombing three of its shelters on 2 November 2023. On 27 December 2023, the UN stated Israel had killed 142 UN employees in Gaza thus far. On 12 January 2024, the UN Secretary-General for Human Rights stated that at least 319 internally displaced persons were killed and 1,135 injured in UNRWA shelters. On 24 January 2024, the UN accused Israel of firing two tank shells into a refugee facility in Khan Younis, killing nine people and wounding 75. Israel denied bombing the facility. Thomas White, a senior UN official in Gaza, called the attack part of "a consistent failure to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law". The
Palestinian Ministry of Education reported that 65 UN schools in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, which the
Save the Children's director for Palestine called "beyond unconscionable". In June 2024, the
Foreign Ministry of Jordan condemned the
Al-Sardi school attack, stating, "These actions and crimes… contradict all human and moral values and represent war crimes against the international community as a whole." In response to the Al-Sardi school attack, UNRWA chief
Philippe Lazzarini stated that attacking UN buildings showed a "blatant disregard of international humanitarian law". Following the
Al-Tabaeen school attack in August 2024, the foreign ministry of Jordan called it a "a flagrant violation of international law and of all humanitarian values," while the government of Turkey stated it was a "crime against humanity". In September 2024, an Israeli airstrike
killed six UN employees at a shelter for displaced people, leading UN secretary general Antonio Guterres to call it a "dramatic violation" of international humanitarian law. Analyses by
CNN,
The New York Times, and
Sky News all found that Israel had bombed areas it had previously told civilians to evacuate to. CNN stated it had verified at least three locations Israel bombed after telling civilians it was safe to go there. An
NBC News investigation found Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in seven areas that the military had designated as safe zones.
Places of worship , 8 October 2023 Under the
Rome Statute, it is a war crime to intentionally attack
places of worship in non-international conflicts, as long as they are not "used by a party to a conflict for acts harmful to the enemy". On 19 October, the Israeli Air Force damaged the
Church of Saint Porphyrius in an attack which targeted a nearby command-and-control center, according to the Israeli military. Hundreds of
Christians and Muslims were sheltering in the church and the strike killed 16 people. The
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned it as "a war crime that cannot be ignored". Following an investigation, Amnesty International stated the church strike was indiscriminate and should be investigated as a war crime. On 16 December 2023, the
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem stated the Israeli army had
killed two women sheltering at the
Holy Family Parish, stating, "They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no belligerents."
Pope Francis described the Israeli attack on the church as
terrorism.
Residential areas An independent United Nations expert said that both Israel's widespread bombing of homes and civilian sites in Gaza and the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas are "war crimes". Balakrishnan Rajagopal stated Israeli strikes had destroyed or damaged 45% of homes in the Palestinian territory, causing "enormous cost in human lives". The UN Special Rapporteur stated targeting of residential areas is strictly prohibited under international law. He further stated that engaging in military actions with the knowledge that it will result in the deliberate destruction of civilian residences and infrastructure, leading to the uninhabitability of entire cities, constitutes a violation of international law. A
+972 Magazine investigation found the Israeli army had expanded authorization for bombing non-military targets. Research conducted by Dr. Yagil Levy at the
Open University of Israel confirmed the
+972 report, stating Israel was "deliberately targeting residential blocks to cause mass civilian casualties". On 31 October 2023, an
Israeli airstrike hit Al-Muhandeseen Tower (the 'Engineers Tower'), a six-story apartment building in Gaza City, killing at least 106 civilians, including 34 women and 54 children. About 350 civilians were in and around the building, including 150 seeking shelter after being moved out of other parts of the city. Without warning, at about 2:30pm, four missiles struck the building within 10 seconds, completely demolishing it. At the time of the attack, children were playing soccer outside the building, and residents and sheltering civilians were charging their phones in the building's ground-floor grocery store. The watchdog Airwars reported 133 to 164 civilians were killed, including 36 women and 67 to 77 children. On 4 April 2024, following an investigation, Human Rights Watch stated they found no evidence of a military target in the vicinity at the time of the attack, making the strike "unlawfully indiscriminate under the laws of war."
Lebanon On 5 November 2023, an Israeli airstrike hit a car near
Ainata, Lebanon, killing three children and their grandmother, and injuring their mother. The Israeli military admitted to striking the vehicle. Human Rights Watch stated that their killings should be investigated as an apparent war crime.
Najib Mikati, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, called the attack a "heinous crime" and said that Lebanon would file a complaint to the
UN Security Council. The UN Human Rights Office said the attack "violated the prohibition on the use of armed force against another state".
Humanitarian aid The Gaza war has been deadliest conflict for United Nations workers in world history. By March 2024, at least 196 UN relief workers had been killed and more than 150 facilities attacked in the Gaza Strip. Following the death of one of their aid workers — the fifth American aid worker killed in Gaza — the
American Near East Refugee Aid released a statement: "We demand an independent investigation into his death, which threatens our team’s ability to function safely and deliver aid to civilians facing starvation". In March 2024, Israel bombed a United Nations food distribution center, killing one UN staff member and wounding 22 others. It was one of the UN's last remaining distribution centers, leading the organization's humanitarian aid chief
Martin Griffiths to state that aid teams "must be protected". A
New York Times investigation showed six Western aid groups had humanitarian sites hit by Israeli strikes, even though the locations were shared with the IDF. In April 2024, Belgium recalled its ambassador to Israel after an
Enabel aid worker and his son were killed by an Israel airstrike. The Belgian Foreign Minister
Hadja Lahbib reacted by stating, "Bombing civilian areas and populations is contrary to international law." The
Quincy Institute found fourteen incidents where Israel attacked humanitarian aid workers, despite being identified as civilians.
Flour massacre On 29 February 2024, more than 100 people seeking aid were killed in
Gaza City during an incident that became known as the
flour massacre. Belgian Deputy Prime Minister
Petra de Sutter stated the massacre was a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law".
Josep Borrell stated it was a serious violation of international humanitarian law. The
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the attack a
crime against humanity. The
Omani Foreign Ministry called the attack a violation of international law.
Amnesty International announced it was launching an investigation. The United Nations Human Rights Office also called for an investigation, stating it had "recorded at least 14 incidents involving shooting and shelling of people gathered to receive desperately needed supplies".
World Central Kitchen drone strikes On 1 April 2024, an
Israeli drone fired three consecutive missiles at three cars belonging to the
World Central Kitchen (WCK), killing seven aid workers who had been distributing food in the northern
Gaza. The president of
Refugees International called the killings "part of a clear pattern" and a war crime.
Doctors Without Borders stated the killings were an example of how "international humanitarian law is not respected". The
Polish Foreign Ministry stated, "Poland objects to the disregard for international humanitarian law". The
Cyprus Foreign Ministry stated, "[International humanitarian law] principles are absolute: humanitarian aid workers must always be respected and protected."
Ben Saul, a UN special rapporteur, stated, "It could well be a violation of international humanitarian law".
Jose Andres, the founder of World Central Kitchen, stated Israel needed "to stop this indiscriminate killing."
Gaza aid distribution massacres On 27 May 2025, the
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American and Israeli-backed organization, began distributing aid in
Tel al-Sultan, Rafah. Thousands of Palestinians gathered, leading to chaotic scenes. Reports emerged of Israeli tanks opening fire on the crowd, resulting in at least three deaths and 48 injuries. The IDF claimed they fired warning shots to control the situation, while a UN spokesperson indicated that most injuries were due to gunfire from the IDF. The next days saw escalating violence. On 31 May, three Palestinians were killed while attempting to reach the aid center. By 1 June, it was reported that 32 civilians were killed and over 250 wounded at the aid site. The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed retrieving at least 23 bodies and numerous injured individuals from the area. By 2 June, at least 75 civilians were killed and more than 400 others were injured by Israeli forces. By 12 June, at least 223 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,800 others were injured while trying to reach the aid distribution centers. These incidents have drawn international condemnation. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an independent investigation into the shootings. The head of UNRWA,
Philippe Lazzarini, condemned the US-backed aid model in Gaza, saying it is a “distraction from atrocities” and "a waste of resources".
18 March attacks On 18 March 2025, Israel bombed Gaza, further violating Human Rights Watch stated that Israeli military forces caused deaths and unnecessary suffering of Palestinian patients while occupying hospitals in the Gaza Strip, amounting to war crimes. They further said that Israeli forces denied water and electricity to the sick and wounded, mistreated and forcibly displaced patients and health workers, and destroyed medical facilities. Amnesty International condemned the attacks, stating, "Israel's genocide and its unlawful air strikes have already caused unprecedented humanitarian suffering in Gaza. Today, we are back to square one. Since 2 March, Israel has re-imposed a total siege on Gaza blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid, medicine, and commercial supplies, including fuel and food, in flagrant violation of international law. Israel has also cut off electricity to Gaza's main operational desalination plant. And today the Israeli military has once again started issuing mass 'evacuation' orders displacing Palestinians." The United Nations reported that one of its staff members was killed, and five others were injured in a strike on a UN guesthouse in Gaza. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an investigation, emphasizing the protection of UN premises under international law. The
Arab League condemned the attacks, labeling them as acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing, and urged the UN and the United States to take action against Israel. == Ceasefire violations by the IDF ==