Israel at War: Week 35
It seems that the numbers Hamas has used to detail Israel’s causing civilian deaths in large numbers are not accurate. The large numbers of deaths claimed by Hamas “fits into a well designed war strategy of defeating Israel by turning it into a global pariah.” With its claims three consequences have occurred. First, the United Nations Secretary-General Guterres has recently notified Israeli ambassador Gilad Erden that “the IDF are officially blacklisted by the UN as a party that commits violations against children.” Two international court findings against Israel have led them to accuse Israel of genocide, while the other calls for the arrest of Israeli leaders.
But do the numbers verify or conflict with these actions? In truth they are contradicted by actual examination. In an interview with CNN John Spencer, the chairman of urban warfare studies at West Point said, “The death ratio in Gaza is 1 combatant to 1.5 civilians. Given that Hamas tends to inflate its figures the real count is closer to 1:1.” Given that the typical ratio in urban warfare is one terrorist to 9 civilians, he concludes, “Either way the number would be historically low for modern urban warfare. So the IDF better protects civilians while fighting terrorists than most, if not all, militaries.”
As Lt. Col. Richard Kemp has asserted, the Israel Defense Forces is the most moral army in military history. Israel’s enemies want to malign the reputation and distort the reality of Israel’s military limiting civilian casualties for their own advantage, to make Israel a pariah and increase their image in the international community.
(Source: The New York Sun)
