THE Rome Statute defines as a war crime “intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects […] which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.”

But this is exactly what Israel has done with respect to safe refuges declared by the UN. Israel claims that their responses were justified by the fact that rockets had been launched from nearby. But the Rome Statute specifies, in this case, that the damage inflicted by Israel in response to Hamas rockets must not be excessive in comparison with that done by the Palestinian rockets themselves.

Clearly it was. Moreover, Israel has the reportedly highly effective Iron Dome rocket system to neutralise the rockets fired by militant Palestinians and can use this entirely without danger to Palestinian civilians and children.

When will our Government take any action to halt this mayhem? Or is our relationship with the USA and our arms trade with Israel more important?

David E Pegg, St Paul’s Square, York.