An international group of high-ranking military officials and diplomats has found that Israel met or exceeded international standards during its 2014 conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to a report [PDF] from the group published by UN Watch [advocacy website] on Friday. The High Level International Military Group traveled to Israel in May and met with a wide range of Israeli military personnel. The group said that while some mistakes were made, they found significant evidence that Israel sought to avoid the conflict, used care in choosing targets, warned civilians before strikes, and held those who acted inappropriately accountable

Our overall findings are that during Operation Protective Edge last summer, in the air, on the ground and at sea, Israel not only met a reasonable international standard of observance of the laws of armed conflict, but in many cases significantly exceeded that standard. We saw clear evidence of this from the upper to the lower levels of command. A measure of the seriousness with which Israel took its moral duties and its responsibilities under the laws of armed conflict is that in some cases Israel’s scrupulous adherence to the laws of war cost Israeli soldiers’ and civilians’ lives.

The group sent its report to the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict [official materials], which is expected to present its findings to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) [official website] on June 29.

The Israel-Palestine conflict [HRW backgrounder] is an ongoing concern for human rights groups, and many have criticized both Israel and Hamas for their actions. In April, a UN board of inquiry said that it uncovered evidence [JURIST report] that at least 44 Palestinians have been killed by “Israeli actions” while sheltering at UN locations. In March the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [official website] released [JURIST report] its 2014 Annual Humanitarian Overview, noting that Palestinian civilians continue to face daily threats to their physical safety and liberty. Also in March the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights told UNHCR that human rights violations “fuel and shape the conflict” [JURIST report] in the occupied Palestinian territories. In November 2014 UNHCR urged Israel to investigate [JURIST report] alleged violations committed by its forces during the recent conflict in Gaza. In September 2014 Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes [JURIST report] by attacking schools where hundreds of displaced Palestinians sought shelter. Earlier that month the Israel Law Center [advocacy website] asked the International Criminal Court [official website] to open an investigation [JURIST report] into alleged war crimes committed by Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.