Israel Faces Charges of War Crimes Over 12-hour Seige of Khuzaa Village Last Week

The Guardian, January 19, 2009 - In testimony collected from residents of the village of Khuza'a by the Observer, it is claimed that Israeli soldiers entering the village:

• attempted to bulldoze houses with civilians inside;

• killed civilians trying to escape under the protection of white flags;

• opened fire on an ambulance attempting to reach the wounded;

• used indiscriminate force in a civilian area and fired white phosphorus shells.

If the allegations are upheld, all the incidents would constitute breaches of the Geneva conventions.

The denunciations over what happened in Khuza'a follow repeated claims of possible human rights violations from the Red Cross, the UN and human rights organisations....

[Editor's Note: Khuzaa is located in the Southeast corner of the Gaza Strip, East of Khan Younis and about 500 meters from the border with Israel.]