Amnesty International, in its annual report released Thursday, accused Israel of having "repeatedly" violated the laws of war during its December offensive in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, dpa reported. "Israeli forces repeatedly breached the laws of war, including by carrying out direct attacks on civilians and civilian buildings and attacks targeting Palestinian militants that caused a disproportionate toll among civilians," Some 300 children were among the dead and around 5,000 people were wounded in Israel's three-week bombardment of the coastal enclave, according to the 2009 report titled: The State of the World's Human Rights. The Gaza conflict followed an 18-month Israeli blockade of Gaza that had brought almost all economic activities in the Palestinian territory and stoked a growing humanitarian catastrophe.
