A United Nations fact-finding mission has found Israel committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity in deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians during the attack on Gaza earlier this year. More than 1,400 Palestinians, over half of them civilians, were killed in the US-backed Israeli assault. The head of the inquiry, Judge Richard Goldstone, said his investigation focused on deliberate attacks ordered by Israeli commanders.

Judge Richard Goldstone: “The thirty-six incidents that we investigated, by and large, and to the greatest extent possible, do not relate to, as I say, 'second guessing' commanders or soldiers who were in the heat of battle. What we’re talking about is a much broader aspect of the deliberate policies that were adopted and the military actions that were taken, not in urgency, not in urgent situations.”

The Israeli attacks included the shooting of Palestinian civilians holding white flags, the deliberate bombing of UN shelters, and the killing of over 300 children. The report accuses Palestinian militants of also violating the Geneva Conventions with rocket attacks on Israeli towns. Thirteen Israelis died during the Gaza attack, four by “friendly fire.” The report advises the UN Security Council to call on both sides to probe the allegations or face investigation by the International Criminal Court.