The UN human rights watchdog praised a UN report on the Gaza war released last year by South African justice Richard Goldstone for highlighting on "Israeli" violations during the conflict.

""Israeli" forces committed war crimes and other serious breaches of international law in the Gaza Strip during a 22-day military offensive codenamed 'Operation Cast Lead' that ended on 18 January (2009)," Haaretz quoted the rights group as saying.

"Among other things, they carried out indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against civilians, targeted and killed medical staff, used Palestinian civilians as 'human shields', and indiscriminately fired white phosphorus over densely populated residential areas," Amnesty added.

"More than 1,380 Palestinians, including over 330 children and hundreds of other civilians, were killed" it notified.

"It hit hardest on the most vulnerable, children, elderly, homeless and the sick, including those in need of medical treatment outside," "Israeli" newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth's website quoted the human rights group saying.

Amnesty's report, denoting the mass unemployment, extreme poverty, food insecurity and food price rises in the besieged Gaza Strip, said shortages have left some 80 percent of Gazans dependent on humanitarian aid.

The report further condemned the blockade as "an outrage," a "flagrant violation of international law" and a disguise on a collective punishment of Gazans - ostensibly imposed to stop Palestinian rocket attacks into "Israel".