United Nations: A new Israeli report on the 2008-2009 war in the Gaza Strip says that Israel's army is taking steps to reduce the number of civilian casualties in future wars and will restrict the use of white phosphorous in urban warfare.
The 37-page report, posted on the Israeli Foreign Ministry's website, was delivered to the office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday, in compliance with a General Assembly resolution, UN officials said. "The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has implemented operational changes in its orders and combat doctrine, designed to further minimise civilian casualties and damage to civilian property in the future," the report said. "In particular, the IDF has adopted important new procedures designed to enhance the protection of civilians in urban warfare, for instance by further emphasising that the protection of civilians is an integral part of an IDF commander's mission.”
Among those measures will be the inclusion of a humanitarian affairs officer in each combat unit.
About 1,400 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and 13 Israelis were killed in Israel's December 2008 - January 2009 offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The offensive was aimed at ending cross-border rocket fire from Palestinian militants.
A UN report was issued in September and found that both the Israeli army and the militant Islamist group Hamas, which controls Gaza, were guilty of war crimes in the conflict. However it focused more on Israel. The Jewish state, which refused to cooperate has condemned the report as distorted and biased and rejected the war crimes allegations.
Hamas denied its fighters committed war crimes but has said it regrets Israeli civilian deaths.
The report also said Israel has launched some 47 criminal investigations into alleged misconduct by its soldiers in the Gaza war; 11 more than in January. However a November 2009 resolution of the 192-nation General Assembly demanded that the Israelis and Palestinians credibly investigate allegations of war crimes during the conflict.
The Palestinian Authority's UN delegation also submitted a progress report to Ban's office.
Israel said in the report that it was planning to impose restrictions on using white phosphorous weapons, smoke-screening munitions that can cause serious burns.
In response to criticism of its use of white phosphorous during the Gaza war, the IDF implemented mandatory buffer zones of several hundred metres and restricted use of it near sensitive sites. The use of white phosphorous remains legal, though the IDF did conduct a review of its use. "As a consequence, the IDF is in the process of establishing permanent restrictions on the use of munitions containing white phosphorus in urban areas," the report said.
The United Nations has yet to react to the Israeli report.
