Mourners attend the funeral of the Kotz family in Gan Yavne, Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. The Israeli family of five was killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 at their house in Kibbutz Kfar Azza near the border with the Gaza Strip, More than 1,400 people were killed and some 200 captured in an unprecedented, multi-front attack by the militant group that rules Gaza.
The rules apply both to wars between nations and conflicts, like that between Israel and Hamas, in which one of the parties is not a state. Jeanne Sulzer, a lawyer with the Commission for International Justice of Amnesty International France, said the Geneva Conventions state that “civilians should never be taken hostage. If they are, that may be characterized as a war crime.”The Israeli military has pounded Hamas-ruled Gaza with airstrikes, blocked deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity and told people to leave the northern half of the strip ahead of a possible ground invasion.