`` Hamas rocket attacks targeting Israeli civilians are unlawful and unjustifiable , and amount to war crimes , '' said Iain Levine , program director at Human Rights Watch . `` As the governing authority in Gaza , Hamas should publicly renounce rocket attacks on Israeli civilian centers and punish those responsible , including members of its own armed wing . '' A spokesman for Hamas , Sami Abu Zuhri , criticized the report , claiming Palestinians had the right to defend themselves against Israeli military operations . `` The report is not fair , '' he said . `` It should condemn the -LRB- Israeli military -RRB- crimes instead of condemning people who defend themselves . `` The international law gives them the right to defend themselves because they are occupied . We have the right to defend our land . '' During Israel 's offensive into Gaza during December and January , Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants claimed to have fired 820 rockets at Israel , the report said . Human Rights Watch said the use of homemade Qassam and Soviet-designed Grad rockets to strike at densely populated areas amounted to indiscriminate attacks on civilians because the weapons
JERUSALEM -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Palestinian militant groups including the armed wing of Hamas are committing war crimes when they fire rockets into Israel , according to a report by campaign group Human Rights Watch . Palestinian militants from the al-Ahrar Brigades march during a rally in Gaza City in July . Three Israelis have been killed and dozens more seriously injured in Palestinian attacks since November 2008 with rockets striking populated areas up to 40 kilometers -LRB- 25 miles -RRB- inside Israeli territory and putting 800,000 Israelis in danger , the report said . Two Palestinian girls died in Gaza when a rocket fell short of its intended target while the attacks have also put Palestinian citizens at risk from Israeli counterstrikes , it added . Human Rights Watch urged Hamas , which controls Gaza , to hold those responsible for the attacks accountable . Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union . Hamas militants have cut down on rocket strikes in the past few months , but the group has not denounced those targeting Israeli civilians , nor has it tried those behind the attacks , the New York-based watchdog said .