h2ohno said:
These sorts of ignorant posts really grind my gears. No army in the history of the world has taken more care to limit civilian casualties on the other side than Israel. The death toll in Gaza is currently said to be around 200 when there have been at least 5 times that many airstrikes despite Hamas deliberately firing from civilian areas, using human shields, and the fact that that death toll includes dozens of people who were killed by Hamas rockets which landed in Gaza. This means that the vast majority of Israeli strikes killed no one, because the IDF gives up its element of surprise by sending warnings whenever it is about to strike a building where it knows there are civilians. Military leaders from across the west have stated that the restraint Israel shows is greater than the restraint their own militaries would be expected to show. Richard Kemp, the general who commanded the British forces in Afghanistan, has been very vocal about how his forces did not show as much restraint as Israel. The High Level Military Group, an organization of former senior military leaders from Germany, the US, Spain, France, Italy, Australia, the UK, India, and Colombia, said this about Israel's last conflict with Hamas: “We can be categorically clear that Israel’s conduct in the 2014 Gaza Conflict met and in some respects exceeded the highest standards we set for our own nations’ militaries. It is our view that Israel fought an exemplary campaign, adequately conceived with appropriately limited objectives, and displaying both a very high level of operational capability as well as a total commitment to the Law of Armed Conflict. It did this under challenging circumstances on a formidably complex urban battlefield. This is not to say that the IDF did not make mistakes, which are inevitable in the context of urban warfare against an enemy such as Hamas, that purposefully hides behind a civilian population.” “The IDF not only met its obligations under the Law of Armed Conflict, but often exceeded them, both on the battlefield and in the humanitarian relief efforts that accompanied its operation. In many cases where the fighting was concerned, this came at significant tactical cost to the IDF. It fought under restrictive Rules of Engagement and it is obvious that instances existed throughout the conflict where the IDF did not attack lawful military objectives on account of a deliberate policy of restraint. The IDF also used a number of highly innovative tactics over and above the necessities of the precautions required by the Law of Armed Conflict. It further used its formidable intelligence capability in an effort to contain its action as closely as possible to Hamas’s assets and protect the civilian population amid which these were purposely and unlawfully embedded.” Any statements that Israel is not showing restraint, that it is responding 'disproportionately' or deliberately killing civilians, display at best a complete ignorance of the realities and laws of warfare. By that standard every single army which has ever engaged in a military conflict since the first army was formed is even more guilty of everything the IDF is accused of. |
I'm sorry I can't take this seriously. It's a bs statement with no basis in reality. And the stupid human shields propaganda is just tired and too played out and it doesn't reflect the ground realities that Israel just bombs buildings it wants without any care for if Hamas is there or not and without any care for how many civilians die. As the guy above said, a better way exists and other occupying forces would have used that. Sending ground troops.
And that last paragraph is just bollocks. Israel is committing war crimes. Saying that's not disproportionate or that it's not deliberately killing palestenians is just not based in the reality that Israel is doing just that. Israel destroyed a building full of Media HQs, the only covid testing site in Gaza and the way to the main hospital in Gaza. There is no proof anyone from Hamas lived in the buildings or was even harmed. Plus you Israel defenders forget that hamas members are palestenians and might be living in flats as well. What Israel is doing is giving justification to attack a residential building if a soldier lives there. And many Israeli military compounds are close to civilian areas. Israel is giving full justification to target those areas.
And the thing about using disproportionate force isn't even an observation, it's in the IDF rulebook. Sorry but MOST armies on Earth would take care more care that civilians are not harmed, even Russia, China and US. The UN and most countries on Earth agree with this reality.
These weird talking points about Israel showing restraint is just an attempt to gaslight people and to make them confused about the oppression they see clearly with their own eyes.
Just a guy who doesn't want to be bored. Also
