We, the undersigned, warn that the conduct of the United States and Israel has inflicted irreversible damage on humanity's cultural heritage and, in light of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, may give rise to violations of international law.
For a long time, these claims of unlawful killings, or war crimes had lived quietly in Afghan villages. They were shared between families, in grief and disbelief, but rarely went beyond that.
Hegseth's distinguishing characteristic on Fox was his fervent support for American service members who had been accused of war crimes, recalled Matt Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters.
Deliberately attacking civilians or civilian objects amounts to a war crime. International humanitarian law demands distinction between military targets and civilians and civilian objects and insists on feasible precautions being taken to protect civilians. In addition, international law provides for specific protections for healthcare workers as well as people at heightened risk, such as the elderly, women and displaced people.
The Pentagon's law of war manual states unequivocally that such statements are war crimes. It's one of the reasons that the United States ensured Germany's senior military officials were prosecuted for the crime after World War II. The best thing Secretary Hegseth can do for the country and for the US military is to say he misspoke and to retract the statement.
Salem Al-Salem, 58, has appeared in a UK court facing charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and torture. Al-Salem, who attended proceedings with a breathing tube, is accused in a landmark prosecution by British authorities. The charges stem from his alleged activities in Damascus in 2011. He faces three counts of murder, three counts of torture, and one charge of conduct ancillary to murder, marking the first prosecution of its kind in the UK.
More than 270 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a genocidal war against Palestinians in the territory on October 7, 2023, in response to Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. This represents one of the bloodiest periods for journalists in modern history, reflecting the scale of the deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalism in an attempt to silence the voice of truth and prevent the documentation of the crimes and violations committed against the Palestinian people.
