A total siege of the Gaza Strip does not comply with international humanitarian law and could possibly amount to war crimes, two experts in international law told DW.

"The war is to be conducted according to certain rules... The belligerent parties have an obligation to minimize the damage to the civilian population," said Sergey Vasiliev, a professor of international criminal law at the University of Amsterdam. 

"Even though Israel may defend its civilians, this should also be done at all times in accordance with the laws of war," he added.

Tom Dannenbaum, an associate professor of international law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, told DW that there had "clearly been violations" of international law perpetrated by both sides.

He said that the siege of Gaza qualifies as "starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, which is a war crime itself."

The Hamas attack also "implicated a number of war crimes, including murder as a war crime, torture, outrages upon personal dignity, hostage taking," Dannenbaum added.

Both scholars also noted that international law applies to both parties to the conflict, and that the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed on Palestinian territory, as well as any crimes committed by Palestinians on Israeli territory.