Respecting IHL

Israel, contra mundum. The Middle East state continues to defy the international community and contravene international laws, but for how long?

Despite mounting pressure from the world’s leading democracies, Israel has wantonly disregarded the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), or the rules governing Parties to an armed conflict. I have said before that Israel’s excessive use of force in the Gaza Strip has violated the cardinal principles of distinction and proportionality. These legal doctrines protect the civilian population from being indiscriminately targeted, maimed and killed in an armed conflict.

Over 9,000 Palestinians, of whom 3,600 were children, have died since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack of the Hamas group and Israel’s retaliatory action (Associated Press). The Gaza Health Ministry said almost 23,000 Palestinians are injured and over 1.4 million displaced. At least 240 soldiers and civilians are held hostage in Gaza.

On the other hand, figures from the Israeli military and international organizations disclosed that 1,400 people have perished, 5,400 injured and 250,000 displaced in Israel.

There are 134 Filipinos, mostly women and children, stranded in the conflict zone. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, at least 115 want to return to the Philippines (ABS-CBN). I hope the Marcos administration would expedite their repatriation before Israel completely devastates the Gaza Strip. The IHL is supposed to ensure the safety and protection of our compatriots from the horrors of the Israel-Hamas conflict. But Israel refuses to adhere to the law on armed conflict.

I am afraid to say that the American-backed nation has gone berserk because it already treats both combatants and civilians as valid military targets. In its thirst for vengeance against Hamas, the Israeli military no longer distinguishes civilians as protected entities. It also does not have qualms about destroying civilian objects such as residential areas, hospitals, schools, buildings and transport systems in Gaza. I will not be shocked if religious, historical and cultural sites become decimated, too, in the long run.

A horrific example is Israel’s unrelenting attack on the