HRW demands Israel justify Gaza strike that killed 12 civilians

December 07, 2012 - Human Rights Watch urged Israel on Friday to provide a full account of its air strike on a house in the Gaza Strip that killed 12 civilians last month, saying the action appeared to have been illegal. The Nov. 18 attack on the three-storey home of the Dalu family was the bloodiest of the eight days of fighting between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist Hamas-led armed factions, in which around 170 Palestinians and six Israelis died. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Israel should have anticipated the civilian toll and censured it for not proving it was justified in targeting the home. Ten members of the Dalu family were killed, along with two neighbours. "Attacks in which the expected civilian loss exceeds the anticipated military gain are serious violations of the laws of war," HRW said in a report. Israel launched its November assault on the Gaza Strip in what it described as a defensive effort to disrupt Palestinian rocket capabilities.