The report, commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), placed most of the blame on Israel and called on the government to hold those responsible for violations accountable, stating,
“Those responsible for suspected violations of international law at all levels of the political and military establishments must be brought to justice.”
The chair of the commission, a former New York supreme court judge, Mary McGowan Davis, said that leaders should have been aware that their failure to act at the time was leading to severe civilian casualties.
Israeli prime minister, in response to the release of the commission’s findings, said,
“The report is biased. The commission that wrote it is under a committee that does everything but protect human rights.”
Hamas also rejected findings, with a senior official claiming that all rockets fired by Hamas were strictly aimed at military sites.
Noting Israel’s refusal to cooperate with the commission, the report called on the Israeli government to provide details behind its targeting decisions. It further noted that though civilians were given warnings before attacks, they had nowhere safe to go due to the nature of the Israeli attacks.
“The timing of the attacks increased the likelihood that many people, often entire families, would be at home,” the report added.
In the run up to the release of the UN report Israel produced its own domestic report alleging that Israeli forces had not violated any international laws.