“Israel” told to probe murder of white flag Gazans

Human Rights Watch has demanded that "Israel" probe into the "unlawful" killing of 11 civilians, including 4 children, who were murdered while waving white flags during the Gaza war.

The New York-based organization said in a 63-page report on Thursday that the 11 civilians were only a small fraction of the civilians killed during the December-January "Israeli" offensive on the Gaza Strip.

"The "Israeli" military should conduct thorough, credible investigations into these deaths to tackle the prevailing culture of impunity", HRW said.

"However, these 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," it added.

"Under the laws of war, individuals who carry out or order deliberate attacks on civilians are responsible for war crimes."

In one of the cases mentioned, two women and three children were killed after they came out of their home upon the order of an "Israeli" soldier, AFP reported.

At least three of them were holding pieces of white cloth when the soldier opened fire, killing two girls aged two and seven and wounding the third girl and their grandmother.

"We spent seven to nine minutes waving the flags, and our faces were looking at them," the grandmother, who was shot twice, was quoted as saying. "And suddenly they opened fire and the girls fell to the ground."

The "Israeli" military is conducting 15 criminal probes into troop conduct during the three-week offensive, including allegations that children were used as human shields.

However, HRW said, """Israel"'s" poor record on investigations makes objective probes unlikely."

"Field investigations typically consist of asking soldiers to question other soldiers, without seeking or considering testimony from external witnesses, and taking exculpatory claims of soldiers at face value," the group said of "Israeli" military investigations.

Tel Aviv launched its large-scale military operations against Gaza's 1.5 million besieged Palestinian residents on December 27. The ensuing three weeks of air and artillery bombardments and a ground incursion left nearly 1,350 Palestinians dead, and about 5,450 injured. At least 1,100 of those killed were civilians.

The international community has accused "Israel" of committing war crimes, including the use of deadly white phosphorus shells in densely populated civilian areas and the use of civilians as human shields.

The incendiary shells cause horrific burns and poisoning and their use against human targets is against international laws.

"Israel" initially denied using phosphorus shells. However, Tel Aviv later admitted using such shells after indisputable evidence, shown globally on video feed, proved that such weapons were used widely against Gazans.