War is a universal crime.
But in the case of recent fighting between Israel and Hamas, both have committed the technical definition of "war crimes," according to a new Amnesty International report.
The human rights organization said that Israel's use of white phosphorus -- a substance which is approved for what the BBC called "open battlefields," but which causes severe burns and widespread death when used in civilian centers -- was the clearest example of Israeli war crimes.
But the report also criticized Palestinian militants for firing "indiscriminate rockets into residential areas of southern Israel, killing three civilians."
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"Of the 1,300 Gazans that died in the conflict, around 300 of them [were] children," said the BBC.
"Direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, disproportionate attacks and indiscriminate attacks are war crimes," the report reads.
Other claims pointed toward the Israelis includes what investigators say is direct evidence of attacks on Palestinian civilians and the civilian center deployment of guided missiles filled with metal darts.
"We found remains of artillery, air-delivered, of different kinds," said Donatella Rovera, a spokeswoman with Amnesty International. "Parts of which had serial numbers. Through that we were able to establish where they were from."
The report includes a lengthy list of guided bombs, aircraft and other advanced military technology sold to Israel by the United States.
"This report was obviously done in cooperation with the Hamas regime," retorted a spokesman for the Israeli government.
"Hamas says its weapons can't be compared to those of Israel, but it also feels the report is unbalanced," said the BBC.
Amnesty has called on the UN Security Council to impose an immediate arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups.
This video is from BBC, broadcast Feb. 23, 2009.
