An Israeli Air Force Pilot At The Tel Nof Air Base In Central Israel
An Israeli air force pilot poses near a F15-E fighter jet at the Tel Nof air base in central Israel November 19, 2012. Reuters/Baz Ratner

Officials in Israel have slammed the report of Amnesty International that claimed the Jewish state had committed war crimes during its campaign in Gaza in July. Israeli officials accused the organisation of being biased, Fox News reports. Israel conducted the operation against Hamas in Gaza in response to the abduction and murder of three teenage Israelis in June believed to be the work of Hamas operatives.

Amnesty International's report was recently released on Nov. 5 and accused Israel of launching attacks of "callous indifference" on homes in densely populated areas. Israel Defence Forces, or IDF, conducted an operation to prevent rocket attacks and tunneling. The United Nations has previously said the IDF offensive had killed about 2,000 Palestinians.

According to Israeli officials, Amnesty International may have failed to document the war crimes committed by Hamas in Gaza. In a statement, Israeli authorities said the report does not mention the word "terror" in relation to Hamas and other armed groups in Palestine. Officials also noticed the report did not contain the tunnels built by Hamas to attack Israel nor any mention of Hamas using human shields.

Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa programme, said Israeli forces have "brazenly flouted the laws of war" by launching a series of attacks on homes. The organisation declared in the report that it had documented eight instances when IDF forces had attacked Gaza homes without warning and claimed they killed at least 104 civilians including 62 children. The report accused IDF of being "indiscriminate" in its attacks.

Previous reports indicated that during the 50 days of fighting, Hamas had targeted Israeli cities and towns with thousands of rockets and used a network of tunnels to attack Israeli military encampments close to the Gaza border. Some of the tunnels dug by Hamas also led to exits near Israeli communities vulnerable to attack.

Israeli officials said the IDF forces were trying their best to avoid civilian casualties and mentioned a warning system to alert civilians. They blamed the civilian death toll on Hamas because it launched rockets from schools, mosques and civilian homes.

Amnesty International has called for the Israelis and Palestinians to allow the International Criminal Court to investigate the crimes committed in Israel and Palestinian territories. Israel's foreign ministry has confirmed it was investigating 90 incidents during the Gaza conflict.