That was a special police operation, IIRC, where IHL doesn’t apply. Of course Israelis also lose protection when they abuse protected signs like the Red Cross, red diamond, or Red Crescent. Interestingly enough the red Star of David (Magen David Adom) isn’t protected in the same way as the Red Crescent, because Islam dominated states voted against it.
Abusing ambulances to transport weapons or fighters is a common tactic among Palestinian militants. The OP refers to Lebanon and Hezbollah though.
That was a special police operation, IIRC, where IHL doesn’t apply.
Using military personnel in a military occupied country, is a "special police operation", huh?. It sounds like just redefining things now. Like the special military operation of Putin which is totally not an invasion of a sovereign nation.
I looked up the event you’re probably referring to. It was in area A, so even if it was a police unit, these should be considered combatants and international conflict. Operating in area A is a breach of the Oslo accords for Israeli forces.
The squad executing the targeted killing of one militant in the hospital were clothed in different civilian clothes (men, women) as you can see in the video. Only a minority of them wore medical uniforms.
The article doesn’t say, but I remember reading somewhere that it was a border police operation.
I don't think we can rely on your imperfect memory. As far as I'm concerned. this was a war crime, much worse than what IDF is complaining about in the OP since it was actually clear and not just "we killed them, therefore they were combatants" CYA.
Just declaring anyone with a rifle as part of the enemy is a wild way to get yourself in front of the Hague.
But also no. It depends on what the ambulance is doing. Going to the hospital? That's a war crime. Moving armed soldiers to the Frontline, that's a target.
It's not nearly as simple as gun=target. This is the military, not the American police.
If a combatant is hors de combat, no longer able to fight, then they are no longer a valid military objective.
If the IDF shuttles soldiers ready to fight to the front using an ambulance, it’s a war crime. Shuttling injured soldiers from the front to the back is not a war crime.
Hezbollah and also Palestinian militant groups have been observed to use ambulances to do the former.
There are independent investigations from the 2006 Lebanon war documenting similar cases. You can also find this for previous wars in Gaza and the West Bank.
An IDF spokesperson said in a televised interview that day: “Our forces saw terrorists using ambulances as a vehicle to move around. They perceived a threat and accordingly we struck that ambulance.” Human Rights Watch did not find evidence that the ambulance was being used for military purposes
An injured fighter is no longer a combatant and entitled to medical treatment like any other human being.
But by blowing up the ambulance so that only body parts can be found after, it can always be claimed that the patients were still healthy before being bombed.
Specific ambulances are only attacked if there’s intelligence like surveillance that says it’s being used to transport combatants or weapons. If all ambulances were systematically targeted, all ambulances would camouflage as civilian vehicles.
You are correct that persons hors de combat are protected.
Evidence in war zones is always difficult, especially when combatants don’t wear uniforms. You can easily make a combatant look like a civilian, by removing the weapons from the scene. Making civilians look like combatants just takes putting a weapon next to their body. Independent neutral investigators will rarely arrive at a scene before one of the belligerent forces.
Specific ambulances are only attacked if there’s intelligence like surveillance that says it’s being used to transport combatants or weapons
Yeah? You actually believe this?
As the person above you said, there is no way to confirm any of it because they blew it the fuck up. For all we know, it was transporting injured fighters out of the warzone. Blowing that up (and then later lying about it) is something the IDF 1000% would do without thinking twice. It's their M.O.
The Guardian are pretty much the voice of New Labour, who are totally in bed with Israel (they're still sending them weapons and even sent surveillance planes to help them in Gaza).
If The Guardian is actually critical of Israel and the IDF that's a pretty good indication that the Zionist Genocide has already burned most of their good will even in Britain which is one of the most right wing states in Europe and has a history of invariably either being one or supporting White Colonist States in their Genocides of the locals (remember how they supported Appartheid until the last minute and even called Mandela "a terrorist"?!).