In a brutal assault in Rafah during 2014 Gaza war, Israeli forces purposely targeted scores of civilians, report finds.
The Israeli army indiscriminately and deliberately targeted civilians during a brutal 2014 assault known as "Black Friday", according to a new report on last summer's Gaza war.
The joint study by Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture, released on Wednesday, cites "strong evidence" of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity on August 1, 2014, as Israeli forces bombarded residential areas in Rafah in retaliation for the capture of one of its soldiers.
"There is overwhelming evidence that Israeli forces committed disproportionate, or otherwise indiscriminate, attacks which killed scores of civilians in their homes, on the streets and in vehicles and injured many more," notes the report.
"This includes repeatedly firing artillery and other imprecise explosive weapons in densely populated civilian areas… In some cases, there are indications that they directly fired at and killed civilians, including people fleeing."
The report relies on hundreds of videos, photos and satellite images that were analysed and cross-referenced with eyewitness testimony.
It catalogues the events of August 1-4, 2014, when a scheduled humanitarian ceasefire was derailed after Israeli soldiers clashed with Hamas freedom fighters in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.
