Talk of equivalencies in death tolls or ideas of vengeance are misapplied in the Israel-Hamas fight, where the two sides play by very different rules.
The tit-for-tat dance of irreconcilable animus between Israel and Hamas—the democratically elected terrorist group that controls Gaza—continues with 365 rockets having been launched against the Jewish state and more than 200 airstrikes hitting Gazan targets. Approximately 90 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its counteroffensive—among them were 22 children. More than 500 have been injured. (All figures are accurate as of 7 p.m. EDT Thursday.)
No Israeli casualties have been reported thus far, although one man was reportedly seriously injured when a rocket struck his car.
We’ve been here before. Both in 2008 and again in 2012, Israel responded to unremitting rocket attacks from Gaza—the territory it had only recently abandoned in hopes that it would lead to the building of a Palestinian nation rather than a missile-happy next door neighbor—by unleashing its air force, and even its ground troops, to bring an end to the hailstorm of what was at the time 10,000 Hamas rockets, and still counting.
Not unlike its objectives this week, Israel’s targets in those operations were concealed rocket-launching sites, weapons storage and manufacturing facilities, terrorist command posts (usually located inside residential houses) and secret tunnels. And just like the present Operation Protective Edge, those earlier incursions into Gaza resulted in disproportionately unbalanced losses among Palestinians when compared to the Israeli dead.
Once again human rights organizations, the United Nations secretary-general, and even the American president, are imploring Israel to show restraint and be mindful of its superior military power being exercised in areas where civilians are within the line of fire. At the same time, however, Hamas spokesmen continue to warn Israel that they will seek vengeance against the Jewish state and that all Israelis are their intended targets.
The story is here.
