A/HRC/29/52 the operation, 5,000 tons of munitions were supplied, 28 and that 14,500 tank shells and approximately 35,000 artillery shells had been fired. 29 One non-governmental organization reported a 533 per cent-increase in highly explosive artillery shells used in 2014 in comparison to the hostilities in 2008 and 2009.30 Many explosive weapons, in particular artillery and mortars, have a wide-area effect, meaning that anyone or anything within a given area is likely to be killed, injured or damaged, owing to the scale of their blast and their imprecise nature. While not illegal as such, the use of these weapons in densely populated areas poses a high risk to the civilian population. 31 49. According to official Israeli sources, artillery was used in urban areas only on an exceptional basis, when these areas were known to have been largely evacuated. 32 The incidents examined by the commission, however, demonstrate that artillery and other heavy weapons were widely used in residential neighbourhoods, resulting in a large number of casualties and extensive destruction. 33 For instance, in Shuja’iya, the sheer number of 155 mm shells fired, the reported dropping of 120 one-ton bombs in a short amount of time in a densely populated area,34 and the use of a creeping artillery barrage raise questions with regard to the respect by the Israel Defense Forces of the rules of distinction, precaution and proportionality. 50. The extensive use by the Israel Defense Forces of explosive weapons with wide-area effects, and their probable indiscriminate effects in the built-up neighbourhoods of Gaza, are highly likely to constitute a violation of the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks. 35 Such use may, depending on the circumstances, qualify as a direct attack against civilians, 36 and may therefore amount to a war crime. 37 51. In addition, the fact that the Israel Defense Forces did not modify the manner in which they conducted their operations after initial episodes of shelling resulted in a large number of civilian deaths indicates that their policies governing the use of artillery in densely populated areas may not be in conformity with international humanitarian law. 52. The commission examined several additional incidents, including attacks on shelters, hospitals and critical infrastructure, in which artillery was used. The use of weapons with wide-area effects against targets in the vicinity of specifically protected objects (such as medical facilities and shelters) is highly likely to constitute a violation of the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks. Depending on the circumstances, indiscriminate attacks may qualify as a direct attack against civilians, 38 and may therefore amount to a war crime.39 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 12 Israel Defence Forces, Omer Shalit, Technological and Logistics Directorate: “Faster and more efficient: this is how munition is supplied to the fighting forces”, 13 August 2014, available at www.idf.il/1133-21100-HE/IDFGDover.aspx (in Hebrew). “16 Facts about Operation Cast Lead”, Bayabasha, Ground Forces Magazine, No. 29; October 2014 (available at http://mazi.idf.il/6216-he/IGF.aspx) (in Hebrew), p. 47. Action on Armed Violence, “Under fire: Israel’s artillery policies scrutinised”, December 2014, p. 14. See also OCHA Policy, “Protecting civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas”. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IDF Conduct of Operations (see footnote 17), p. 49. Action on Armed Violence, “Under fire” (see footnote 30), p. 12. NRG News, Senior officer Yohai Ofer “Shuja’iya is under control, we have damaged an entire Hamas network”; 23 July 2014, available at www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/599/869.html (in Hebrew). Protocol I, art. 51, para. 4. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Prosecutor v. Galic, case No. IT-98-29-T, judgement, 5 December 2003, para. 57. Rome Statute, art. 8. Prosecutor v. Galic (see footnote 36), para. 57. Rome Statute, art. 8.