Targeting
Down Is Not Always Out: Hors De Combat in the Close Fight
Note: this piece builds on a recent article published in Infantry Magazine. While that article was intended “to equip infantry leaders with the knowledge required to train their soldiers to make confident, split-second decisions in combat,” this piece is focused on...
Targeting Dual-Use Structures: An Alternative Interpretation
In a recent Articles of War piece, I discussed protection of the media under international humanitarian law, a topic that had come to the fore when the Israel Defense Force (IDF) attacked the Al-Jalaa Tower, a 12-story building in the Gaza Strip on May 15. The...
Warnings as a Precautionary Measure: Gaza
On May 15, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gave advance warning of an airstrike against the Al Jalaa Tower in Gaza. IDF operational summaries of Operation Guardian of the Walls highlight extensive use of warnings in furtherance of the recognized obligation to take...
Israel, IHL, and the Al-Jalaa Tower
The most recent flare-up of active hostilities between Israel and Hamas once again brought to the forefront of legal discussions questions of responsibility and accountability for civilian deaths and damage to civilian property caused by Israel’s attacks in the Gaza...
The Kargu-2 Autonomous Attack Drone: Legal & Ethical Dimensions
In March 2021, a UN Panel of Experts on Libya reported a possible use of lethal autonomous weapons systems—such as the STM Kargu-2—which “were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true...
Legal Protection of the Media in Armed Conflict: Gaza
On May 15, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike on Al Jalaa Tower, a 12-story building in the Gaza Strip. Conducted as part of Operation Guardian of the Walls, the attack destroyed the tower, which housed the Associated Press and Al Jazeera...
Israeli Attacks on Gaza’s Tower Blocks
Once more, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has erupted into open violence and a miserable display of destruction and human suffering. In what has become a familiar pattern, the fighting on the ground is accompanied by a war of words. Mutual recriminations and...
Ntaganda Appeals Chamber Judgment Divided on Meaning of “Attack”
On 30 March 2021, the International Criminal Court Appeals Chamber issued its judgment in the Ntaganda case. The judgment, which primarily responds to the appeal submitted by Bosco Ntaganda against his conviction for numerous counts of crimes against humanity and war...
Humanitarian Notification Systems & Intentional Attacks Against Hospitals
Editor’s note: The following post is part of the Articles of War Symposium on Beth Van Schaack’s book, Imagining Justice for Syria. The symposium offers a platform for the contributing experts to carry the conversation on justice and accountability in Syria forward....
Understanding Self-Defense and the Law of Armed Conflict
Many soldiers, commanders, and judge advocates involved in the conflicts in Africa, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan deploy with a dated and incomplete understanding of individual self-defense. This reality is the product, in part, of definitional imprecision in the...
Military Considerations and the Ntaganda “Attack” Question
This post concludes our series featuring the International Criminal Court’s recent hearings on the legal notion of “attack.” As co-editors-in-chief, we wish to extend our sincere gratitude to our contributors. As scholars of the law of war, we wish to add a few...
The Unintended Consequences of International Court Decisions
In response to a prosecution appeal in the case of The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently considering the meaning of “attack” under the Rome Statute. The Court’s decision, however, could have consequences that...