Remember when the war was supposed to end when all the hostages were released?
I wonder what all the people who told me that the objective of this war was to free the hostages are going to tell me now?
Remember when the war was supposed to end when all the hostages were released?
I wonder what all the people who told me that the objective of this war was to free the hostages are going to tell me now?
I’m talking about what actually happens, not what is “right” or “allowable”. In a warzone, if your enemy looks like civilians, then civilians start looking like the enemy. That’s the reason why not wearing uniforms became a war crime in the first place. It drives up civilian casualties.
Cop - But he looked like the perp!
Citizen - How?
Cop - His skin was darker than mine.
Same goes for soldiers killing for nationalistic purposes.
Yes, because in a war, you totally have plenty of time to stop and do a thorough investigation into which one of the five guys within sight just shot at you. Everyone will just pause everything while you figure out who you are supposed to shoot back at.
Isreal’s not exactly shooting at folks “within sight” who “just shot at you”. They’re bombing people from a very comfortable distance.
It was a metaphor to continue a conversation about why having your combatants looking like and mixed in with the civilian population is bad. We’re talking in the abstract, not literal. Keep up.
You could always read up on guerilla warfare and Resistance Movements as well as the details of the occupation, if you want to talk literal.
Statistics for civilian to combatant death are like 9-1 and 7-1, there’s having no choice and then there’s committing warcrimes out of convenience. Bibi says its juuust 2-1, so according to him the majority of Hamas combatants are women and children right?
You know, we’d have better and more accurate statistics about casualties on the ground if the IDF weren’t actively trying to keep a journalist/aid worker kill high score too. You don’t have to support Hamas or the Palestinians but please don’t try to justify the IDF’s actions.
I’m not justifying anything. I’m saying “Hamas is commiting war crimes and that is bad.” That is all I’m saying. There’s been no justifiable actions on either side for decades now.
Or maybe, here’s a thought: You stop reacting capriciously, and asses the situation to make an informed decision for shoot/no-shoot. Retreat to safety and investigate. Israel likes to flout their ‘world class’ ISR and HUMINT capabilities and superior and accurate weapons, but then keeps making “tragic mistakes” that kill civilians, reporters, and aid workers. Hamas et al are definitely not respecting the laws of war, but that’s not license to turn neighborhoods into free-fire zones.
Of course that requires the forces involved respecting civilian life and showing restraint.