Dan Abrams says the problem is not that Israel has killed so many civilians in Gaza -- it's that Israel is retaliating at all.
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I predicted in the days after the attacks that no matter what Israel’s response was, it would come under attack by the very people who are attacking Israel now. So we really need to stop pretending that the real issue is the specifics of Israel’s response or how they’re doing it. In reality, the problem is that Israel responded at all, and that’s what too few were discussing.
You see, it’s crystal clear now that Israel is being held to a different standard than any other country in the world. Israel apparently is only allowed to respond if they can do so without any real civilian casualties. And of course, that’s literally impossible when Hamas is using civilians as shields, when they’re firing rockets from civilian areas, when they’re hiding and storing weapons in residential buildings, when they have command centers in hospitals.
So the practical options are basically don’t retaliate, don’t try to dismantle Hamas or many civilians are going to die. And because, of course, Israel has responded. Many are now rewarding Hamas for the situation they created by committing the most repugnant crimes imaginable. Of course, they knew the response would come. They counted on the international aid groups, European and Arab nations, liberal groups condemning Israel. It worked. They’ve all fallen for it.
Hamas is saying more than 22,000 had been killed as of today. Now, in many cases, they’re literally making the numbers up. They’ll guess how many may have died in an attack on a building. But more importantly, even they admit that they lumped together civilian deaths with terrorists.
And here’s the thing. The same people who accept these casualty numbers as gospel and lump civilians and terrorists together and say 22,000 have been killed, are the same people demanding that Israel better separate terrorists from civilians? But of course, the reason it’s so difficult to do it and to assess the numbers is because Hamas makes sure to keep it that way. They want everyone to view the terrorists and the civilians together, both as targets and in casualty counts. They’re grand manipulators.
The most significant reality is that Israel does not benefit by the death of civilians. If they did, they would not warn civilians where to go to avoid the next bombing. They would flatten neighborhoods instead of buildings or going door to door, which is very perilous for Israeli soldiers. You can argue that the IDF needs to try to be even more careful about civilians. I’ve made the same point in certain contexts, and you could made the same argument, by the way, about the U.S. response in Afghanistan. But in the end, this is a war. It’s a war created by Hamas. And if civilians die in war, most importantly, this is exactly how Hamas wants it. Civilian deaths help their cause, and any deaths in Gaza seem to hurt Israelis. The evidence of that is now clear in how so many around the world have responded. They won’t admit it, but they’re letting Hamas win.
Israel’s response by any other nation would be considered perilous, but righteous. Because it’s Israel, they’re immediately the aggressors, they’re the bad guys and have been from the moment of the attack on them. And that isn’t just anti-Semitism, as some Jews claim. Yes, there’s definitely anti-Semitism around the world. It’s a factor. But a lot of it here in the United States is just ignorance and a complete unwillingness or inability to answer the question: “What else do you think Israel should have done? What would you do if this happened to your country, to your citizens?”
So, look, let’s criticize the IDF if and when they deserve it. But big picture, please spare me the self-righteous condemnation of Israel more broadly by claiming this is about the number of civilians who have died. Of course, it isn’t.
The same people on MSNBC and in the Arab world who blamed Israel as soon as the attack occurred would be blaming Israel today no matter what the death count was. Let me be clear. Civilian deaths must matter, a lot. And no one knows that better than Hamas. And that’s why they’re trying to guarantee as many as they possibly can. The rest of us, particularly those of us in the media, shouldn’t be falling for that ruse.
You see, it’s crystal clear now that Israel is being held to a different standard than any other country in the world. Israel apparently is only allowed to respond if they can do so without any real civilian casualties. And of course, that’s literally impossible when Hamas is using civilians as shields, when they’re firing rockets from civilian areas, when they’re hiding and storing weapons in residential buildings, when they have command centers in hospitals.
So the practical options are basically don’t retaliate, don’t try to dismantle Hamas or many civilians are going to die. And because, of course, Israel has responded. Many are now rewarding Hamas for the situation they created by committing the most repugnant crimes imaginable. Of course, they knew the response would come. They counted on the international aid groups, European and Arab nations, liberal groups condemning Israel. It worked. They’ve all fallen for it.
Hamas is saying more than 22,000 had been killed as of today. Now, in many cases, they’re literally making the numbers up. They’ll guess how many may have died in an attack on a building. But more importantly, even they admit that they lumped together civilian deaths with terrorists.
And here’s the thing. The same people who accept these casualty numbers as gospel and lump civilians and terrorists together and say 22,000 have been killed, are the same people demanding that Israel better separate terrorists from civilians? But of course, the reason it’s so difficult to do it and to assess the numbers is because Hamas makes sure to keep it that way. They want everyone to view the terrorists and the civilians together, both as targets and in casualty counts. They’re grand manipulators.
The most significant reality is that Israel does not benefit by the death of civilians. If they did, they would not warn civilians where to go to avoid the next bombing. They would flatten neighborhoods instead of buildings or going door to door, which is very perilous for Israeli soldiers. You can argue that the IDF needs to try to be even more careful about civilians. I’ve made the same point in certain contexts, and you could made the same argument, by the way, about the U.S. response in Afghanistan. But in the end, this is a war. It’s a war created by Hamas. And if civilians die in war, most importantly, this is exactly how Hamas wants it. Civilian deaths help their cause, and any deaths in Gaza seem to hurt Israelis. The evidence of that is now clear in how so many around the world have responded. They won’t admit it, but they’re letting Hamas win.
Israel’s response by any other nation would be considered perilous, but righteous. Because it’s Israel, they’re immediately the aggressors, they’re the bad guys and have been from the moment of the attack on them. And that isn’t just anti-Semitism, as some Jews claim. Yes, there’s definitely anti-Semitism around the world. It’s a factor. But a lot of it here in the United States is just ignorance and a complete unwillingness or inability to answer the question: “What else do you think Israel should have done? What would you do if this happened to your country, to your citizens?”
So, look, let’s criticize the IDF if and when they deserve it. But big picture, please spare me the self-righteous condemnation of Israel more broadly by claiming this is about the number of civilians who have died. Of course, it isn’t.
The same people on MSNBC and in the Arab world who blamed Israel as soon as the attack occurred would be blaming Israel today no matter what the death count was. Let me be clear. Civilian deaths must matter, a lot. And no one knows that better than Hamas. And that’s why they’re trying to guarantee as many as they possibly can. The rest of us, particularly those of us in the media, shouldn’t be falling for that ruse.
