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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military says the only residential buildings it targeted during last year's war in Gaza were those that "became legitimate military targets."
The military is responding to a claim from an Israeli rights group that a majority of the Palestinians who were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza homes were women, minors or the elderly. The group says some of the strikes violated the rules of war.
It calls the strikes on homes "one of the appalling hallmarks of the fighting," and says they were approved at the top levels of Israeli power.
Israel fought the war to halt rocket fire from Gaza. During the fighting, Israel launched about 5,000 airstrikes and unleashed thousands of rounds of artillery. Militants in Gaza fired about 4,300 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel.
According to U.N. figures, more than 2,200 Palestinians were killed, most of them civilians. On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers and five civilians were killed.
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219-a-16-(Hagai El-Ad (hah-GYE' el-ahd), director, Israeli human rights group B'Tselem (biht-SEHL'-lehm), with reporters)-"Gaza this summer"-Hagai El-Ad of the Israeli human rights group B'tselem says his group's research shows most Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza were women, minors or the elderly, and some strikes violated the rules of war. (28 Jan 2015)
<<CUT *219 (01/28/15)££ 00:16 "Gaza this summer"
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