A/HRC/12/48 page 183 814. The State of Israel would be responsible under international law for these internationally wrongful actions carried out by its agents 815. From the facts ascertained, the Mission finds that the conduct of the Israeli armed forces in these cases would constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of wilful killings and wilfully causing great suffering to protected persons456 and as such give rise to individual criminal responsibility. 816. The Mission also finds that the direct targeting and arbitrary killing of Palestinian civilians is a violation by the Israeli armed forces of the right to life as provided in article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 817. In most of the cases examined above, the Mission finds that the Israeli armed forces denied the medical emergency services access to the wounded civilians. This was the case with regard to all the incidents occurring in the al-Samouni neighbourhood, particularly after the shooting of Ahmad al-Samouni, where the PRCS ambulance was forced to return to Gaza City having come within 100 metres of the gravely wounded boy. Ambulances were also arbitrarily prevented from reaching the wounded after the attack on Wa’el al-Samouni’s house, most dramatically after the shooting of Amal, Souad, Samar, and Hajja Souad Abd Rabbo and of Rouhiyah al-Najjar. In the case of the shooting of Muhammad Hekmat Abu Halima and Matar Abu Halima, it is the rescuers who were executed, preventing them from taking their severely burned relatives to hospital. In the case of Iyad al-Samouni, finally, the relatives who wanted to assist him were threatened with being shot themselves. 818. The Mission recalls that article 10 (2) of Additional Protocol I provides that “In all circumstances [the wounded] shall be treated humanely and shall receive, to the fullest extent practicable and with the least possible delay, the medical care and attention required by their condition. …” This provision enjoys customary international law status. The Mission is mindful that “the obligation to protect and care for the wounded … is an obligation of means.” It applies whenever circumstances permit. However, “each party to the conflict must use its best efforts to provide protection and care for the wounded,… , including permitting humanitarian organizations to provide for their protection and care.”457 819. The facts ascertained by the Mission establish that in the incidents investigated the Israeli armed forces did not use their best efforts to provide humanitarian organizations access to the wounded. On the contrary, the facts indicate that, while the circumstances permitted giving access, the Israeli armed forces arbitrarily withheld it. 820. On this basis, the Mission finds a violation of the obligation under customary international law to treat the wounded humanely. Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines the “wilful killing” of protected persons as a grave breach of the Convention. The same qualification is applied to acts which “wilfully caus[e] great suffering or serious injury to body or health”. 456 457 Customary International Humanitarian Law…, rule 110 and p. 402.