Hamas seems to be targeting Israeli civilians and hiding behind those in Gaza.
I'd just like to point out that (as I'm sure you know, Bob
), the population density in Gaza/Gaza Strip is one the highest in the world (4,118/km2/10,665/sq mi). Basically it's one big refugee camp of 1,5 million people (1,0 million of whom are refugees, 40,000 of whom had been internally displaced by the IDF, i.e. refugees who'd again become refugees inside the refugee camp) and it's completely sealed off by the State of Israel. So leaving Gaza and going away from the civilians is not an option even if the will was there. Of course, the bottom line is that Hamas & other rogue factions firing rockets are wrong in the first place, and there's no excuse for shelling citizens across the border.
However, it's the Israeli side's responsibility to do the utmost to avoid civilian casualties. With more than 800 Palestinians killed and around 3,000 wounded, half of whom are civilians, and half of whom are women and children, it does not look like the Israeli side is keeping their end clean either, especially as IDF flat out say it aims for maximum power and shock, supposedly to teach a lesson. In a metropolitan area of 1.5 million people, the majority of whom are civilian non-combatants, that's illegal, a war crime. Israeli newpaper
Haaretz is reporting that it has learned that one of the IDF's methods for "evacuating" Gaza civilian homes is to fire a missile toward its upper level and soon enough shell-shocked residents will emerge from the house and get out of the IDF's way. Just because the IDF has the upper hand, the bigger guns and more fire power does not justify such methods.
So no surprise many call the Israeli side's use of force "disproportionate." Note that very few are denying the State of Israel's right to act to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks; it's the amount of force that is been condemned. Because, you know, "for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." Terrorist is as terrorist does, but from the democratic state of Israel, we have the right to expect more, that the state of Israel act better than the sorry terrorist bunch of Hamas. When Hamas slaughters civilians, Satan rejoices. When the Israeli army slaughters civilians, Satan keeps rejoicing.
The OP's UN school hit by IDF is a case in point. The Israel Defense Forces' own investigation found that indeed, the Israeli army hit the wrong building and whatever militant fire and Quassam rocket there was or not, it wasn't coming from the UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, marked on the IDF maps) building populated by civilian refugees: the IDF simply missed their target by some 30 meters. Even IDF officers themselves admit that they should have refrained from using mortar rounds and relied instead on more accurate fire. Indeed. So why weren't they? Why wait until a carnage like that, or more precisely, the subsequent public outcry, before taking the necessary precaution? It's IDF choice of war; the Israeli army has the luxury of choosing their bombs & targets carefully before acting.
One sad thing is it seems that people have forgotten there are (actually more than) 3 sides here.
That's a good point. And I'd name those three sides as 1) Hamas 2) The Israeli political establishment fighting an election battle 3) the civilians caught between on both side of border.
