21. Finally, the commission notes that “[u]nder international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute, the death of civilians during an armed conflict, no matter how grave and regrettable, does not in itself constitute a war crime. International humanitarian law and the Rome Statute permit belligerents to carry out proportionate attacks against military objectives, even when it is known that some civilian deaths or injuries will occur. A crime occurs if there is an intentional attack directed against civilians […] or an attack is launched on a military objective in the knowledge that the incidental civilian injuries would be clearly excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage […].”

86. The commission requested detailed information from the Government of Israel on where the rockets and mortars fired by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza actually landed so as to make a more detailed assessment of the proportion of cases in which they were directed at densely populated areas in Israel. Unfortunately, the Government of Israel did not provide a response, which made it difficult for the commission to determine the extent to which attacks directed at the civilian population in Israel.

87. A letter was sent to the State of Palestine requesting information on the objective and targets of the rocket and mortar firing, as well as information on the type of rockets used by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza. A similar letter was sent to Hamas. The commission did not receive a response to these specific requests for information.