A Legal Analysis of Israel’s Claim to Self-Defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter On the morning of 27 December 2008, the Israeli occupying forces launched ‘Operation Cast Lead,’ a wide-ranging military operation against the Gaza Strip. After 22 days of unrelenting aerial attacks coupled with intensive ground incursions, the death toll exceeded 1,400 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians including women and children, with over 5,000 more wounded. The excessive civilian casualties were compounded by the unprecedented destruction of civilian infrastructure across the Gaza Strip including hospitals, schools, mosques, civilian homes and United Nations (UN) compounds. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon described the extent of death and destruction across the Gaza Strip as “shocking and alarming”1 and condemned Israel’s “excessive use of force”2 against the Gaza Strip.

Download Report