The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs has published the text and video of the address by British Col. Richard Kemp on “Hamas, the Gaza War and Accountability under International Law”:
So what did the IDF do in Gaza to meet their obligation to operate within the laws of war? When possible the IDF gave at least four hours’ notice to civilians to leave areas targeted for attack. . . .
In the latter stages of Cast Lead the IDF unilaterally announced a daily three-hour cease fire. The IDF dropped over 900,000 leaflets warning the population of impending attacks to allow them to leave designated areas. A complete air squadron was dedicated to this task alone. . . .
The IDF phoned over 30,000 Palestinian households in Gaza, urging them in Arabic to leave homes where Hamas might have stashed weapons or be preparing to fight. Similar messages were passed in Arabic on Israeli radio broadcasts warning the civilian population of forthcoming operations. . . .
By taking these actions and many other significant measures during Operation Cast Lead the IDF did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other Army in the history of warfare.
All of this in connection with a war against a terrorist state that had been firing thousands of rockets toward Israeli civilians, and which hid behind and among civilians (in schools, mosques and hospitals) when the IDF finally reacted.
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