Jos, I'm going to summarize (hopefully faithfully) your statements:
- The death ratio ( 28 from Israel due to rockets from Hamas since 2001), whereas over 500 Palestinians in one week
- The death ratio of children ( Israeli vs Palestinian)
- IDF bombs residential/civilian targets, while knowing all along that civilians might be unable to leave)
Believe me, as a father, I hate seeing this and I cannot possibly imagine the horrors going on over there.
Having said that, here's my reply.
- Multiple reports that 20%+ of Hamas rockets fall short of targets and strike Gaza (also misfirings) From January to June of this year, 30 Gazans lost their lives from this (or due to accidents like the missile factory that exploded.) During those six months, roughly 50-60 rockets were fired and hit Israel. In July alone, estimates that 800 Hamas rockets fell short and struck Gazans. Wonder how the Palestinian press attributed this....
- Hamas inflates the numbers of civilian body count as a practice, to gain international sympathy.
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8076.htm"Hamas interior ministry has issued guidelines to Gaza Strip social media users for reporting events and discussing them with outsiders. "
- Regarding numbers on children, how many are 16 and 17 year old males vs. younger ones. Distinction?
- Regarding the ratio - this is a big issue I have with the media - that the conclusion damns Israel. Israel has spent $$$ on shelters and processes to get civilians to them. Hamas instead creates bunkers to attack Israel and hides their weapons.
Hamas doesn't just "not" built shelters, they forbid their own civilians from using evacuating areas. Hamas also tried to stop UNRWA from creating/using temporary shelter (though they weren't successful). You can't blame Israel for the fact that they protect their civilians better.
- If Hamas stores bombs in civilian areas and they are destroyed by the IDF, nearby homes will be affected as a result of secondary explosions. You can't expect the IDF to know the range of every stockpile, and the secondary explosions can be deadly. So once again, you're blaming Israel for this?
- Some days I have mixed feelings about the actions of Israel, but they are engaged in a war with an enemy that seeks the annihilation of Israel and all the Jews worldwide (stated in the Hamas charter)
- On the "IDF bombs the targets and the civilians anyway". I'd ask for some proof. And I offer this in response.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=804208936279889Translation: "Pilots receive orders not to release if a civilian runs into the line of fire. No other army goes this far"
So in the end, I have a question. If people in Gaza not trying to attack Israel, how many in Gaza (any age group) would die at the hands of the IDF? The fact that Israeli civilian death counts are so much lower is explained by them building bomb shelters and providing a better defense vs Hamas building weapons bunkers and smuggling tunnels. Not Israel's fault.
