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These casualties comprise a small fraction of thePalestinian civilians killed and wounded during what Israel called OperationCast Lead, but they stand out because of the circumstances of theattacks. In each case, the victims were standing, walking, or in a slowlymoving vehicle with other unarmed civilians who were trying to convey theirnon-combatant status by waving a white flag. All available evidenceindicates that Israeli forces had control of the areas in question, no fightingwas taking place there at the time, and Palestinian fighters were not hidingamong the civilians who were shot. Whether waving a white flag or not,these people were civilians not taking an active part in hostilities, andtherefore should not have been attacked, according to international humanitarian law (the laws of war).

In each of the seven cases, at least one person was wavingan improvised white flag made from cloth or clothes, which internationalhumanitarian law recognizes as a sign of truce or surrender. Civiliansare immune from attack with or without a white flag; in these cases theyundoubtedly waved the flags to communicate that they were not engaged inhostilities and posed no threat, reaffirming their civilian status.

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Two Israeli commanders have alleged that Palestinianfighters used white flags to shield themselves from attack, but withoutproviding details to allow an investigation of the claims, such as date, timeand place. One colonel told the media that his soldiers had seen Hamasfighters move between houses while holding white flags; a second colonel saidhis soldiers had seen a Hamas fighter hide behind a woman with a white flag anda group of children. The IDF turned down requests from Human Rights Watch todiscuss these allegations, as well as our broader findings.

In a series of ground incursions in the area between January11 and 13, Israeli forces engaged Palestinian fighters, reportedly killingthree.[23] Local officials reported numerous civilian casualties.[24]On two separate occasions the IDF heavily used air-burst white phosphorus,artillery-fired, killing one woman and injuring dozens of others.[25]

The next assault took place around midnight onJanuary 13, with heavy shelling, including the extensive use of air-burst whitephosphorus. By early in the morning, approximately 100 neighborhoodresidents had gathered in a small garden. Tanks and bulldozersreached the edge of the village and Israeli soldiers used megaphones to orderthe residents to go to the village center. However, according to threewitnesses, when residents began to move, soldiers who had advanced and deployedinto the neighborhood, shot in their direction, forcing them to turn around.

On January 4, Israeli forces in multiple attacks killedseven members of the Abu Halima family, from Siyafa village, and woundedsix. In two of these deaths, IDF soldiers shot at family members who weretrying to head for safety while carrying white flags or waving their hands inthe air to show they had no weapons.

According to separate interviews with the three familymembers, as well as three other witnesses from the area, Israeli forces firedon the family as they tried to evacuate the wounded and dead from the whitephosphorus attack to the hospital on tractors and a pick-up truck, killing twocousins, Muhammad and Mattar.

Around 11 a.m., a bulldozer demolished one of the walls onthe ground floor, strongly shaking the house. Bassim al-Qanu` said that Ibtisamand his mother, Zakiya al-Qanu`, 55, decided to go downstairs holding whiteflags to tell the soldiers that civilians were sheltering inside.

Around 12:30 p.m. on January 4, in the Juhr al-Dik areasouth of Gaza City near the armistice line with Israel, Israeli troops openedfire on a group of 28 Palestinian civilians who were trying to evacuate theirhomes after hearing IDF orders on the radio to leave the area. The shotskilled a mother and her daughter, who was waving a white flag.

One member of each family, Ahmad al-Safadi and Majida AbuHajjaj, stepped outside the house first, holding white flags, Siham said. The remaining members of the two families, 28 people in total, 17 of themchildren, followed. Together, they walked to the west clustered in smallgroups, with each group raising a flag of white cloth on a woodenbroomstick. They walked past the Abu Hajjaj house and continued walking,but before they could reach the next house, which belongs to the Dughmushfamily, Israeli troops opened small arms fire. Siham Abu Hajjaj describedwhat she saw:

The four men reached the al-Mughrabi house. Shortlythereafter, the group decided to leave. One of the other men who had beeninterrogated, Walid Abu Zour, brought a stick about three meters high from theal-Mughrabi garage, Muhammad said, and Abu Nabil al-Mughrabi, the owner of thehouse, brought pieces of white cloth. Walid held the long stick with whitecloth and Ibrahim held just a cloth. Mohamed described what happenednext:

The IDF field investigations looked at five issues: attacks in which the military fired upon United Nations facilities;attacks on medical facilities and crews; claims of harm to civilians notinvolved in hostilities; the use of white phosphorous munitions; and thedestruction of civilian structures.[86]

In July another group of IDF soldiers spoke out about theabuses they had seen during Operation Cast Lead. The Israeli organizationBreaking the Silence, comp0sed of veteran Israeli soldiers, published thetestimonies of 26 unnamed reserve and regular combat soldiers who hadparticipated in the operation.[88] The soldiers spoke about the destruction of private property withoutmilitary necessity, the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, thefiring of white phosphorus into populated areas, and, relevant to this report,the killings of civilians with small arms. Two soldiers from the Givatibrigade who served in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, for example,explained how soldiers shot and killed an elderly Palestinian man who hadapproached an IDF position in a house at night. The company commanderrefused to give orders for deterrent fire when the man was first sightedwalking on an empty street with a flashlight between 150 and 200 meters fromthe house, they said, so soldiers in accordance with their rules of engagementshot and killed the man when he reached within 25 meters.

On July 29, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs releaseda 163-page report on Operation Cast Lead which, among other things, addressedthe allegations of soldier misconduct during the hostilities.[92] For the first time Israel announced that IDF investigations into roughly 100complaints were ongoing, and 13 criminal investigations had been opened. Among the investigations are five incidents where Israeli soldiers allegedlykilled civilians holding white flags:

It should be noted that while civilians are always immunefrom attack unless directly participating in hostilities, combatants whoexpress an intention to surrender, such as by displaying or waving a whiteflag, likewise may not be attacked.[104]

The laws of war prohibit perfidy, the improper use of whiteflags of truce, and the use of human shields. Perfidious attacks arethose in which a combatant feigns non-combatant status, such as by pretendingto be wounded or a civilian, to gain the confidence of belligerent forces inorder to carry out an attack.[118]White flags of truce may only be used to request to communicate with theadversary, such as to negotiate a ceasefire or surrender; any use to gain amilitary advantage over the enemy is unlawful.[119]

Third, Israeli forces have in the past targeted Palestinian civilians in Gaza displaying or waving white flags when they were in plain view and posed no apparent threat. In 2009, Human Rights Watch documented seven incidents during hostilities in which Israeli soldiers unlawfully shot and killed 11 Palestinian civilians who were in groups carrying white flags. Among the victims were five women and four children. Human Rights Watch colleagues and I visited the site of each incident, interviewed at least three witnesses, gathered medical records, and inspected ballistic evidence. The Israeli military authorities declined to meet with us or answer our questions.

Conclusions: Thirty-two percent of the so-called "red flag" symptoms and signs of CES in seven sources were definitely those of late, irreversible CES. These could be seen as "white flags" [flags of defeat and surrender]. Thirty-five percent of the recommendations if interpreted pessimistically (e.g. absent perineal sensation or urinary incontinence) would also be white flags; potentially therefore two-thirds of the so-called "red flag" symptoms/signs of CES could be those of late irreversible CES. Only 32% of the symptoms/signs were true "red flags" i.e. they warn of further, avoidable damage ahead. Guidelines should be redrawn to emphasise referral of patients who are at risk of developing CES or who have early CES. It is illogical for these guidelines to emphasise the clinical features of severe, often untreatable, CES. Demand for emergency MRI will increase; MRI is part of triage and should be performed at the DGH.

White flags stand near the Washington Monument on Tuesday during installation of a temporary art exhibit on the National Mall. More than 630,000 flags are part of artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg's In America: Remember, honoring Americans who have died of COVID-19. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

The art installation, titled In America: Remember, was created by Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, the Washington, D.C., social practice artist who first created an installation of white flags outside the District of Columbia's RFK Stadium in October 2020.

Artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg poses with one of the white flags installed near D.C.'s RFK Stadium in fall 2020. This month, thousands more are featured in her latest exhibit on the National Mall. Bruce Guthrie/Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg hide caption ff782bc1db