Inside Story

Is international law to protect civilians ignored in Gaza’s war?

Both Israel and Hamas are accused of illegal acts in the current fighting.

Palestinians bombed by Israel. Hundreds killed and thousands injured.

Gaza under siege, running out of supplies.

Hundreds of Israelis killed by Hamas fighters, abductions and communities pounded by rocket fire.

Do civilians have any protection under international law?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests: 

Geoffrey Nice – lawyer and former prosecutor at the International Criminal Court

Omar Shakir – Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. He was deported from Israel after a 2021 report on Israeli war crimes against Palestinians.

Michael Lynk – professor emeritus in the law faculty at Western University and former United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, which Israel banned him from visiting