In an unpalatable, although not altogether unsurprising, turn of events it transpires that the munitions used by Israel against Gaza were indeed supplied by the United States.

According to the report issued by Amnesty International, in which the organization calls for a U.N. endorsed embargo on all parties involved, both Hamas and Israel used foreign-supplied weapons.

Honouring a ten year agreement between the US and Israel that is set to expire in 2017, the former is anticipated to provide the latter with $30 billion in military aid.

Raining on our hopes for a more peaceful era under President Obama, the sum represents a 25% increase compared to the preceding Bush administration.

While this morning’s news has prolifically covered the aforementioned report concerning the actions of Israel, a lesser covered report also by Amnesty – issued earlier this month – explores the shady role Hamas assumed while the Gaza conflict raged.

As the Palestinian death toll nudge over 1,000, Hamas forces and militias commenced a campaign of abductions, unlawful killings, torture and death threats against critics, opponents, and suspected collaborators with Israel.

Often abducted from their homes, others were hunted down in the hospitals and shot as they lay injured.

Amongst the opponents was Nasser Mohammad Mhanna, a 34-year-old father of six and a commander of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the armed militia of Fatah.

Having been detained in Gaza Central Prison since August 2008 on charges of participating in the attempted assassination on the deposed Hamas Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, Mhanna escaped after the prison was bombed by Israeli forces.

On 28 December 2008, his body was found on the outskirts of Gaza City, with fatal bullet wounds to the head and eye, issued from close range.

The testimonies comprised in the report make for gruesome reading, particularly when considered alongside the atrocities occurring simultaneously.

Somehow, in the blur of war and media coverage of the bigger picture, it is easy to lose sight of the smaller, though no less significant, abrogations of human rights.

And it is all abrogations – whether committed by the prominent aggressor, or amongst and by the victims – that should receive equal attention and condemnation by the media.