The military officials demonstrate how Israel’s methods of protecting civilians exceed those of any other modern military force.
By Shula Rosen, United with Israel
Although many media outlets and social media platforms are rife with accusations against Israel for its execution of the ongoing Gaza War, NATO military chiefs are disproving the ICC’s allegations and commend the IDF for its humane conduct.
Amid the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on the accusation of war crimes, NATO military officials are providing evidence refuting these charges.
The High Level Military Group (HLMG) is comprised of former chiefs of staff, senior military officers and cabinet ministers from the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain, Finland, and the Netherlands.
The HLMG filed an amicus curiae brief to the ICC refuting the charges of starving and intentional killing of civilians.
The HMLG explained that contrary to media reports, Israel has made more effort to ensure food and aid reaches civilians than is typical for modern armies.
“It is our considered military opinion that the State of Israel and the IDF are and have been since the inception of this operation complying in good faith with all international legal obligations to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” they wrote.
The HMLG explained, “We do not believe any other armed forces have ever made such efforts, or achieved such success, in facilitating aid delivery to civilians in enemy territory while still engaged in active hostilities in that same operational environment.”
The HMLG described the pains the IDF takes to avoid harming civilians.
They described the implementation of a Civilian Harm Mitigation Cell (CHMC), technology developed before the war using a digital map updated hourly showing concentration of the civilian population.
Planning airstrikes and deciding what munitions will be used involves the IAF and IDF consulting CHMC.
The HMLG wrote, “It is our professional opinion that such a unit is extremely unusual, and we are not aware of any other military with a comparable risk mitigation methodology.”
The statement continued, “We assess this is an unprecedented measure, along with millions of leaflet drops, phone calls, text, and voice messages, to help commanders prevent or minimize risk to civilian life.”