Rights group says Israelis shot dead unarmed civilians carrying white flags

Israeli soldiers shot dead 11 unarmed Palestinian civilians carrying white flags during Israel's offensive in Gaza earlier this year, according to a report from Human Rights Watch, which said Israel had failed to investigate the killings adequately. The deaths–including those of five women and four children–took place in seven separate incidents across Gaza in areas controlled by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), where there was no fighting and no Palestinian fighters were nearby. Human Rights Watch, a New-York-based organisation, which yesterday published White Flag Deaths: Killings of Palestinian Civilians during Operation Cast Lead , said it informed the Israeli military of the cases in February. But they were not examined in an IDF internal investigation into the conduct of its forces, which concluded that they "operated in accordance with international law". The group says at least three witnesses confirmed the details in each of the seven separate shootings. Included among the cases is one in Khuza'a, close to the fence surrounding Gaza. Rawiya al-Najjar (47) was shot dead and her relative Jasmin al-Najjar (23) was wounded while the two women were attempting to escape an attack on the village that included the use of white phosphorus and the bulldozing of houses.