Legal analysis of #Hamas’ hostage-taking: it has been more than 40 days since Hamas stole 240+ #Israelis & took them hostage in #Gaza (240+ #warcrimes), & Hamas has refused every demand to permit the International Red Cross (ICRC) access to the hostages (240+ more war crimes).
Among the hostages savagely stolen by Hamas was a woman who was 9 months pregnant on 10/7; and, assuming she’s alive, she should have given birth by now.
Add one newborn baby to the list of civilians held hostage by #HamasTerrorists.
Common Article 3 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions specifies that anyone in custody of a party to a conflict (#terrorist organizations like Hamas are included under Article 3(1)(b) as acknowledged in Nicaragua v. USA (1986) at Paras. 218-19) shall:
(1) “be treated humanely”;
(2) be protected from “violence to life and person”; and
(3) “[t]he wounded and sick shall be … cared for.”
In addition, customary humanitarian law requires any persons detained, and thus deprived of their liberty, be permitted to correspond with their families.
The very essence of the mission of the ICRC is to gain access to hostages & ensure they are being held in compliance with Article 3.
But, so far, after more than 40 days, Hamas has committed 240+ ongoing war crimes by repeatedly refusing the ICRC access to the hostages
Importantly, since the vast majority of the hostages are civilians, it is a universally accepted international norm (that is also stated in Article 34 of the Fourth Geneva Convention) that they must all be released immediately.
However, at a bare minimum - even if the hostages were treated as Prisoners of War (POWs) - international law requires they must be afforded the protections provided to POWs under the Third Geneva Convention (such as being provided sufficient food and water & receiving any needed medical attention).
The Third Geneva Convention confers a special mandate to the ICRC to protect the dignity & well-being of POWs by ensuring the hostage-takers comply with the law. Thus, Hamas is required under international law to provide the ICRC with regular access to visit POWs.
Again, Hamas has refused the ICRC any access to the hostages. So, as just a few examples:
(1) the condition of the new mother & her newborn baby are unknown;
(2) the condition of Kfir Bibas, a nine-month-old infant stolen from his home, is unknown
(3) the condition of 27-year-old Tamar Gutman, who suffers from debilitating Crohn’s disease & is without her medication, is unknown; and
(4) the condition of 85-year-old grandmother Yaffa Adar, who requires a walking aide to ambulate, requires a hearing aid to hear, & who is without her litany of required medications for ailments such as her heart condition, kidney disease, and chronic pain, is unknown.
The unknown - that is psychological torture for the families. Each instance of psychological torture adds even more to the list of war crimes committed by Hamas.
By now, you must have seen & heard the extreme inhumanity & shocking barbarism of Hamas’ Oct 7 attack.
You’ve seen & heard Hamas terrorists laughing as they raped women & even children.
You’ve heard their laughter as they burned babies alive in their cribs.
You’ve heard them brag about their mutilations, their beheadings, their torture, and their murders of men, women, children, the elderly, the infirm, and babies.
Every single individual act of torture & cruelty carried out by Hamas - for which there are presently too many to count - is yet another war crime, as the Third Geneva Convention precludes any party to a conflict from engaging in torture or cruelty.
And has the torture & cruelty under which the hostages suffered been treated in captivity?
Has the torture and cruelty of the hostages been ongoing - or made even worse - while they have been unlawfully held in captivity?
No one knows the answers to these questions because Hamas has refused to permit the ICRC access to the hostages in violation of international law and basic human decency.
#Education #Israel #Palestine
Among the hostages savagely stolen by Hamas was a woman who was 9 months pregnant on 10/7; and, assuming she’s alive, she should have given birth by now.
Add one newborn baby to the list of civilians held hostage by #HamasTerrorists.
Common Article 3 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions specifies that anyone in custody of a party to a conflict (#terrorist organizations like Hamas are included under Article 3(1)(b) as acknowledged in Nicaragua v. USA (1986) at Paras. 218-19) shall:
(1) “be treated humanely”;
(2) be protected from “violence to life and person”; and
(3) “[t]he wounded and sick shall be … cared for.”
In addition, customary humanitarian law requires any persons detained, and thus deprived of their liberty, be permitted to correspond with their families.
The very essence of the mission of the ICRC is to gain access to hostages & ensure they are being held in compliance with Article 3.
But, so far, after more than 40 days, Hamas has committed 240+ ongoing war crimes by repeatedly refusing the ICRC access to the hostages
Importantly, since the vast majority of the hostages are civilians, it is a universally accepted international norm (that is also stated in Article 34 of the Fourth Geneva Convention) that they must all be released immediately.
However, at a bare minimum - even if the hostages were treated as Prisoners of War (POWs) - international law requires they must be afforded the protections provided to POWs under the Third Geneva Convention (such as being provided sufficient food and water & receiving any needed medical attention).
The Third Geneva Convention confers a special mandate to the ICRC to protect the dignity & well-being of POWs by ensuring the hostage-takers comply with the law. Thus, Hamas is required under international law to provide the ICRC with regular access to visit POWs.
Again, Hamas has refused the ICRC any access to the hostages. So, as just a few examples:
(1) the condition of the new mother & her newborn baby are unknown;
(2) the condition of Kfir Bibas, a nine-month-old infant stolen from his home, is unknown
(3) the condition of 27-year-old Tamar Gutman, who suffers from debilitating Crohn’s disease & is without her medication, is unknown; and
(4) the condition of 85-year-old grandmother Yaffa Adar, who requires a walking aide to ambulate, requires a hearing aid to hear, & who is without her litany of required medications for ailments such as her heart condition, kidney disease, and chronic pain, is unknown.
The unknown - that is psychological torture for the families. Each instance of psychological torture adds even more to the list of war crimes committed by Hamas.
By now, you must have seen & heard the extreme inhumanity & shocking barbarism of Hamas’ Oct 7 attack.
You’ve seen & heard Hamas terrorists laughing as they raped women & even children.
You’ve heard their laughter as they burned babies alive in their cribs.
You’ve heard them brag about their mutilations, their beheadings, their torture, and their murders of men, women, children, the elderly, the infirm, and babies.
Every single individual act of torture & cruelty carried out by Hamas - for which there are presently too many to count - is yet another war crime, as the Third Geneva Convention precludes any party to a conflict from engaging in torture or cruelty.
And has the torture & cruelty under which the hostages suffered been treated in captivity?
Has the torture and cruelty of the hostages been ongoing - or made even worse - while they have been unlawfully held in captivity?
No one knows the answers to these questions because Hamas has refused to permit the ICRC access to the hostages in violation of international law and basic human decency.
#Education #Israel #Palestine
FYI, the purpose of this post was to specifically point out how #Hamas has refused the Red Cross access to the hostages and what that means. I did some additional legal analysis on Hamas’ taking of hostages in the post below if you’re interested.
#Education #Israel #Palestine
#Education #Israel #Palestine
https://twitter.com/cptallenhistory/status/1718672678859546973
Another legal analysis on #Hamas taking hostages I did previously is below (there are four in total including the one I did today).
#Education #Israel #Palestine
#Education #Israel #Palestine
https://twitter.com/cptallenhistory/status/1718713716248596619
Last one of my international law posts regarding #Hamas taking hostages for those interested in more details of Hamas’ war crimes.
#Education #Israel #Palestine
#Education #Israel #Palestine
https://twitter.com/CptAllenHistory/status/1718703193595527600
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
