A/HRC/12/48 page 96 … the IDF will be required to strike hard at Hamas and to refrain from the cat and mouse games of searching for Qassam rocket launchers. The IDF should not be expected to stop the rocket and missile fire against the Israeli home front through attacks on the launchers themselves, but by means of imposing a ceasefire on the enemy.243 378. The Mission understands all these statements to imply that, in the view of their authors, in order to be effective, military operations have to be directed not only against military targets but also against the non-military infrastructure. 379. The Israeli Government’s discussion of the “targeting of Hamas terrorist infrastructure” asserts that, “consistent with the principle of distinction, IDF forces attacked military targets directly connected to Hamas and other terrorist organizations’ military activities against Israel.” This statement is followed by a list of examples of objectives, such as command posts of alQassam Brigades, alleged weapons storage sites and training camps, rocket and mortar launch sites, and tunnels. The list also refers twice to a location identified as the office of Ismail Haniyah, “head of the Hamas administration”. This list is followed, however, by a statement reiterating and elaborating the argument that there is really no distinction to be made between military and civilian objectives as far as government and public administration in Gaza are concerned: While Hamas operates ministries and is in charge of a variety of administrative and traditionally governmental functions in the Gaza Strip, it still remains a terrorist organization. Many of the ostensibly civilian elements of its regime are in reality active components of its terrorist and military efforts. Indeed, Hamas does not separate its civilian and military activities in the manner in which a legitimate government might. Instead, Hamas uses apparatuses under its control, including quasi-governmental institutions, to promote its terrorist activity.244 4. Factual findings 380. From the facts gathered by it, the Mission finds that Israel launched direct attacks against the main prison in Gaza City on 28 December 2008 and against the Palestinian Legislative Council building in Gaza City on 31 December 2008. The attacks substantially damaged the buildings, making them unfit for use. At least one person was killed in the attack on the prison, while there were apparently no casualties in the attack on the Legislative Council building. 381. The factual question of whether these two institutions and their buildings served a military purpose must be considered with regard to the legal definition of military objectives. It is addressed in the following section. Gabriel Siboni, “Disproportionate force: Israel’s concept of response in light of the second Lebanon war”, Institute for National Security Studies Insight, No. 74 (2 October 2008), available at: http://www.inss.org.il/ publications.php?cat=21&incat=&read=2222. 243 244 “The operation in Gaza…”, paras. 233-235.