國際人道法嘅一項基本原則就係參與武裝衝突嘅人士，任何時候都必須區分平民同戰鬥員，以及民用物體同軍事目標。因此，國際人道法禁止故意或直接攻擊平民或民用建築，禁止不分皁白嘅攻擊。使用人體盾牌或挾持人質嘅做法同樣受到禁止。喺暴力局勢升級成武裝衝突陣，將此類行為稱為「恐怖主義」並唔會起到額外嘅作用，因為呢啲行為經已構成國際人道法定義嘅戰爭罪。
It is a fundamental principle of international humanitarian law that persons involved in armed conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and combatants, as well as between civilian objects and military objectives. International humanitarian law therefore prohibits deliberate or direct attacks on civilians or civilian structures, as well as indiscriminate attacks. The use of human shields or hostage-taking is also prohibited. In the event of an escalation of violence into a front of armed conflict, calling such acts "terrorism" does not play an additional role, as they already constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law.