by Fares Akram, Ziad Abu Khoussa GAZA, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Hamas on Sunday rejected a report piled by a rights group accusing the Gaza ruler and Israel of failing to investigate violations during last year's Gaza war as families of Palestinian victims demanded more pressure on Israel to punish perpetrators. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Sunday that Israel's investigations 'lack thoroughness and credibility, while Hamas has conducted no credible investigations at all.' It also urged the international community to lay pressure on both sides to launch independent investigations before a July deadline set by the United Nations. Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, including 10 soldiers, were killed in the 22-day massive offensive in Gaza that ended in January 2009. Both Israel and Hamas have denied committing war crimes. Mohammed Al-Ghoul, Hamas minister of justice, said the HRW's 62- page report was 'illogical and illegal,' adding that the organization 'lives in another world different from the Gaza Strip. ' In February, the UN General Assembly gave the concerned parties another chance to present impartial probes by July, after Israel and the Palestinian authorities failed to respond to a report penned by Richard Goldstone who led a UN fact-finding mission into the war hostilities. The fact-finding mission, after five months of investigation, said both the Israeli army and Hamas fighters were likely guilty of war crimes and potentially of crimes against humanity. Al-Ghoul said that his government 'has submitted a report meeting the international standards' to the UN. In the 52-page Hamas response report, less than one page dealt with the key issue of rockets Hamas fired indiscriminately into Israeli communities near Gaza and did not show any measures taken against rocket squads or those who ordered them to be fired. Ismail Radwan, a Hamas spokesman, said Israel 'was the side that committed crimes against the Palestinians,' accusing the HRW of 'mixing up with the papers and ignoring the truth.' 'We need Israel to be chased down internationally and taken to the International Criminal Court for committing crimes against children and women and for destroying houses and facilities,' Radwan said. In its response to Goldstone's report, Hamas said its attacks targeted only Israeli military objects, but the HRW says Hamas' claim 'ignores the fact that rockets fired into Israel that did not land in open terrain mostly hit populated civilian areas, including towns and cities, far from any military target.' The goldstone report, and the HRW report entitled 'Turning a Blind Eye: Impunity for Laws-of-War Violations during the Gaza War, ' also demanded Hamas investigate the killing of alleged collaborators with Israel and killing or kneecapping dozens of Hamas dissidents, mostly affiliated to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party. The issues Israel should have investigated were attacks on Hamas' political infrastructure, civilian police and the usage of white phosphorus shells and the resumption of firing artillery 155 mm projectiles in Gaza after two years of cessation, the organization said. In addition, the Israeli forces used civilians as 'human shields' and did not apply proper rules of engagement on using unmanned airplanes and on its ground forces. Out of hundreds of cases of laws-of-war violations, Israeli military police opened investigations of 36 cases and convicted only three soldiers: one for stealing a Palestinian credit card and two for ordering a nine-year-old Palestinian boy to open bags believed to contain explosives. Seven cases were closed for lack of evidences and investigations into the remaining 27 incidents are underway, the HRW said. Radwan Al-Mardi, 34, was one of witnesses who testified before the Israeli military police four months ago on the shooting that killed his six-year-old daughter, Nada, in Beit Lahiya town on Jan. 5, 2009. The father told Xinhua that he was carrying a white flag when he was walking with other members of the family upon an order from the Israeli army to leave their house because the soldiers wanted to turn it into a military base. Israeli soldiers 'told me there was arrangement for us to leave the house, but they fired at us some 50 bullets every step we advanced,' he said. 'Ultimately, a gunshot hit my daughter in the head.' At Erez checkpoint in northern Gaza, Al-Mardi and his father were interviewed separately by Israeli investigators. He said the inspectors took his testimony, asked several questions and wrote them down. 'I don't know what happened after that and so far don't know any ensuing result.' 'I want to ask the killer of my daughter: do you accept that your daughter is shot?,' Al-Mardi said. 'We are neither terrorists nor fighters. We are farmers.' The strawberry farmer recalls that in previous invasions -- the Israeli troops entered his house more than seven times since it is not far from the borders in northern Gaza 'and hadn't harmed us.' Bassam Al-Qanou, whose 34-year-old wife was shot dead when she waved a white flag before an Israeli bulldozer hit the pillars of her house, has also met Israeli investigators. He said he wants ' that soldier who fired at my wife to be punished by the force of the law.' Though the interrogator 'was serious in asking the questions,' Al-Qanou believes 'it is difficult to bring that soldier to an account,' urging the international and local rights group to step up their pressure on Israel. The HRW said it calls on the United States and European governments 'to demand that Israel conduct impartial investigations into alleged laws-of-war violations and into policies set by senior officials that may have led to violations.' Organizations with influence on Hamas such as the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference 'should demand credible investigations by the authorities in Gaza,' the HRW said, saying that no Hamas supporters have called for accountability or pressed for serious investigations. 