Israeli war crimes are the violations of international criminal law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, which the Israel Defense Forces, the military branch of the state of Israel, has been accused of committing since the founding of Israel in 1948. These have included murder, intentional targeting of civilians, killing prisoners of war and surrendered combatants, indiscriminate attacks, collective punishment, starvation of civilians, the use of human shields, torture, pillage, forced transfer, breach of medical neutrality, targeting journalists, attacks against civilian and protected objects, wanton destruction, and incitement to genocide.