We owe it to humanity to see the rules of war are observed – no matter how tough a test the Israel-Hamas conflict proves | George Monbiot

No set of crimes justifies another. To succumb to this principle would mean a never-ending cycle of violence

For almost 4,000 years, some governments have insisted that if wars must be fought, there should be rules. The first known code, by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, laid down the principle on which all subsequent laws of war have been based: to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak". Needless to say, he possessed some expertise in oppressing the weak. From inception, such laws have amounted to victors' justice, enforced by but not against the dominant powers. But this neither renders them worthless nor suggests that we shouldn't attempt to hold powerful governments to account.

During its assault, on Black Saturday, Hamas broke numerous laws of war, starting with its rocket fire into Israel, which made no attempt to discriminate between military and civilian targets, breaking article 13 of protocol II of the Geneva conventions. Its fighters murdered, tortured and raped, breaking common article 3 of the Geneva conventions and articles 27 and 32 of the fourth convention. They also engaged in pillage and terrorism (33, fourth convention) and the taking of hostages (34, fourth, and article 8 of the Rome statute). Hamas clearly intends to use these hostages as bargaining chips, exacerbating the crime.