So, by today’s standards Winston Churchill, who was thought of as the greatest statesman ever, would be reclassified as a war criminal, along with Roosevelt, George W Bush, Tony Blair and any other leader that was at the helm of a war, even if it was in defence of freedom, democracy and protecting the lives of their citizens .
Tragically, war can never be conducted without collateral damage and that is one of the main reasons countries should not start wars as the innocent always die. There is a measured ratio of civilian to combatant death toll and in WW11 where some 70 million were killed in six years it is thought that perhaps up 67% of those perished were civilians . Up to 35,000 civilians died the night the allies bombed Dresden . The atomic strikes by the US that brought the war in the East to an end took the lives of between 150,000- 246,000 civilians. But what choice did the allies have ? Succumb to tyranny ?
This war in Israel which has been raging since October 7th, is totally unprecedented. No army has previously fought a defensive war underground and in such a densely populated urban arena where the civilians are used as human shields . Additionally , those charged with caring for the civilians ; UNWRA, were part of the enemy fighting forces. Hospitals, mosques and schools had been transformed in military headquarters and weapon storage facilities , despite the fact that the sick and the young were using the premises.
Despite all the above challenges the IDF managed against all odds to keep the civilian death toll to an extraordinary low ratio, setting a new gold standard for urban warfare. The estimate is 1:4 and the IDF is the only army in the world that forewarns civilians and provides safe zones.
In comparison , Mosul in 2017, which was the largest urban battle since WW11, had a much higher civilian casualty rate, was carried out by the US, France, UK,Canada, Australia, Germany,Turkey and the Netherlands. Only the US vetoed the ICC vote against Israel The other countries who have perpetrated much higher civilian deaths and casualties( and not even defending their own territory ) upheld the vote !! Hypocrisy of the highest order .
The previous numbers claimed by the UN have been quietly revised and the data from Hamas is totally unreliable. In truth, no one yet knows the death toll, and as so many of the civilian population and the UNWRA workers have been proven to be complicit and aiding Hamas it is going to be impossible to judge who is a civilian and who is a combatant. In most wars the children are the innocent victims and the children in Gaza are victims, even if they are not injured as their young minds have been poisoned and manipulated and these are the people we must try to save from further sorrow , hardship and extremism.
Israel is accused of genocide and starvation. Both charges are spurious as there is no genocide in Gaza and Israel sends aids trucks which are sufficient to feed everyone . Hamas steals the aid and resells it at exorbitant prices to fund their war. Nevertheless, the corrupt ICC has issued arrest warrants against both Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Gantz. Experts in warfare are actually praising Israel’s strategy and the extreme efforts, (even at the risk of their own soldiers) that the IDF are making to safeguard the civilians while targeting Hamas.
These outrageous arrest warrants now put Israel’s democratically elected leader and his former defence secretary who are fighting a defensive war initiated by Hamas and Hezbollah in the same category as the murderous dictators , Putin and al-Bashir of Sudan and the late Colonel Kadafi ! Assad in Syria is responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of thousands and the Turkish Erdogan kills at his leisure while screaming out at Israel and offering to host Hamas leaders !
Stating the above figures doesn’t make the loss of civilians lives any more acceptable, but what choice does Israel have when they have enemies now on multiple fronts firing indiscriminately into the country and attempting to invade with the sole purpose of killing the inhabitants ?
We are now day 414 days since that black sabbath, when the lives of 1200 Israelis were cruelly and viciously ended. Woman, children, the old, soldier or civilian were treated with a savage cruelly previously unimaginable by a blood thirsty mob who thought they would overrun the country. With the benefit of hindsight we know now that a full scale invasion from both the south and the north was avoided.
The fate of the hostages remains unknown but Hamas released a video claiming a female hostage has been killed and the life of another hangs in the balance. Nothing can be verified. It is though a deal is being discussed which would involve the release of convicted Hamas terrorists for the hostages over a 42 day ceasefire. Trump says he will be the new “negotiator in chief” to bring the hostages home. Netanyahu has increase the reward for the safe return of hostages to $5 million dollars and told Gazans to choose life.
Last week the IDF death toll was higher than previously with six soldiers sacrificing their lives . Another has fallen today.
Hamas have been firing from the humanitarian zone, so they are still active and trying to disrupt the aid lorries in order for the world call for a ceasefire. The remaining terrorists are mostly in the Jabaliya area laying Over 300 boobie traps in buildings and there has been close combat fighting with the IDF continuing to eliminate those who were responsible for October 7th.
In the north Hezbollah are stepping up their rocket fire and there are sirens across the north and the centre with 7 injuries in Petah Tikvah and direct hits on residential buildings in Haifa, causing 2 injuries. Nehariya is under attack and a home in Moshav Rintia has been destroyed. 250 rockets have already been fired into Israel by Sunday afternoon ! Sirens are being heard in Caesarian, Netanya, Herzliya, Ra’anana, Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv as long range missiles are being launched.
The IDF will need to intensify their return fire as the Iron Dome cannot cope with such a large barrage of rocket and while its interception rate is usually more than 95%, as the rocket fire increases so the interception rate decreases and it is more likely that the missiles will evade the defence. They will , as always , issue evacuation orders to the civilians before they target the hubs that are directing the attacks on Israel.
They always say Israel is the land of miracles and last week a nursery school teacher heard a very faint distant siren ( not for her area), but her instinct made her quickly move her children from the playground into the safe room. Within minutes the playground suffered a direct hit ! These are war crimes - targeting civilians , sending indiscriminate missiles into civilian areas and starting an unprovoked war and taking hostages.
Travel warning have been issued for Thailand and the UAE after a Chabad Rabbi, Zvi Kogan was murdered in a senseless anti semitic terrorist attack. As many know Chabad emissaries work all over the world providing refuge, meals and so much spiritual support for their communities and travellers. They are the equivalent of a worldwide Jewish Mother Theresa, a beacon and light and hope in such difficult times. This is not the first time they have been targeted. In 2008 the Chabad House in Mumbai was attacked and seven innocent people were killed by an Islamic Pakistani Group.
A difficult and sad week for the Jewish world and a very challenging week for Israel.
Kind Regards
Carolyne Davis