Civilian deaths in Gaza conflict are not automatically a war crime

Inevitably, the United Nations Human Rights Council has expressed its condemnation of Israel and launched a war crimes inquiry. The vote on July 23 followed the usual political lines that have previously resulted in the 47-member council being critiqued for bias even by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The resolution was supported by 29 council members (for example Organisation for Islamic Co-operation states, Latin American nations, China, India), opposed by the US and abstained from by 17 mostly European countries.