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The Truth About Civilian Casualties in Gaza

Nov. 21, 2012 12:35pm

Tiffany Gabbay has been a writer and communications specialist for the past decade. Her passion for politics was fostered at an early age by her father, a […]

Tiffany Gabbay has been a writer and communications specialist for the past decade. Her passion for politics was fostered at an early age by her father, a successful entrepreneur and war hero. Tiffany worked as a Journalist on Capitol Hill where she interviewed some of the Beltway's biggest names, and also served as Deputy Director of a Republican Women’s advocacy group. Prior to her time in the beltway, Tiffany spent a number of years in the U.K. where she began her career in publishing. She started out in London's insurance and risk management industry as associate publisher for a popular trade publication, and later served as global communications manager for an international insurance trade body based in Manchester. She is a graduate of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C. and studied communications at the London Institute.

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tiffany@theblaze.com

“There will be peace in the Middle East when Arabs learn to love their children more than they hate Israel.” — Golda Meir

The glaring anti-Israel bias prevalent in mainstream media coverage of the Gaza conflict is obvious to anyone who supports the idea that a sovereign nation has the right to defend itself and its citizens from brutal, repeated attack — attacks that have been waged on the Jewish State for 65 years. One important fact that tends to be omitted in traditional reporting is the great lengths to which the Israel Defense Forces goes in preserving civilian life on the side of the Palestinians.

In addition to the IDF’s precision-targeting of Hamas operating centers — sites from which the terrorist outfit launches its short and long-range rockets into Israeli neighborhoods as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem — Israel also forewarns Gaza residents of pending strikes in their respective neighborhoods in order to give every citizen an opportunity to evacuate and seek safe shelter.

The IDF does this, in part, by distributing Arabic-language pamphlets (like the one featured below) in Gaza neighborhoods from which Hamas militants are known to operate. Israel’s DEBKAFile reported Tuesday that the IAF dropped leaflets warning Gaza residents to leave their homes as Hamas rocket fire against Israel intensified. This is of course never mentioned in mainstream reporting on Israel.

: The IDF drops these Arabic language leaflets in Gaza warning residents to seek shelter. (Source: IDFSpokesperson)

Is this painstaking measure to preserve human life on the side of one’s “enemy” something you could envision Hamas doing for Israel? Rather, an old adage goes: When a Palestinian child is killed in the conflict Israel mourns, when an Israeli child is killed by a Hamas rocket, Palestinians rejoice.

The issue is that Hamas, a terrorist organization, is not a legitimate military that operates by ethical codes of wartime conduct. With this in mind, it is crucial to note that the militant Islamist group targets its own civilians by housing rocket-launch sites from directly within civilian neighborhoods and structures.

In fact, many Hamas rockets are hidden inside residential buildings as well as near school playgrounds. This tactic alone should underscore Hamas’ blatant disregard for human life, particularly that of the very people they claim to champion.

By using innocent civilians as human shields, Hamas banks on the fact that Israel, which consistently conducts itself with a high moral authority, will not strike such targets. Issues arise, however, after a barrage of rockets rain down on innocent Israelis from these civilian locations in Gaza. What other choice does the Jewish State have but to eliminate the site from which those rockets are launched?

Once the IDF carries out its targeted mission, even after engaging its best attempts to evacuate Gazans beforehand, there may still be the unfortunate byproduct of civilian casualties — and that is precisely how Hamas wins the propaganda war. In the arena of public opinion driven by moral equivalence, Israel finds itself constantly vilified. Thus, Hamas gets what it wants. Its tactics work and are rewarded by the mainstream media and leftist communities across the world daily. So why would these terrorists ever stop?

At the end of the day, if the Palestinians were truly only concerned about land on which to build their own state, peace would have come to fruition long ago. Recall that in 2000, under U.S. President Bill Clinton at the Camp David Accords, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered PLO leader Yasser Arafat nearly everything the Palestinians had demanded in terms of land and concessions and was refued outright. Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, who was acting as intermediary at the time, even blamed Arafat for his reckless decision — one he knew would only beget more bloodshed.

Then, again, in 2005, Israeli PM Ariel Sharon unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, uprooting thousands of Jewish residents and communities, and handed the keys of the kingdom over to the Palestinians. His hope was that they would build a thriving community that would benefit their citizens. Rather than cultivate a flourishing society based on agriculture, industry or tourism, however, under the thumb of Hamas, Gaza was turned into a massive ammunitions site from which thousands of rockets have been launched at innocent Israeli civilians.

Today, directly before a ceasefire was announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a bomb was detonated in a city bus in Tel Aviv injuring over 20 people. Gazans rejoiced.

Until the underlying issue is addressed, and Hamas truly fears its outright destruction, all the ceasefires in the world will be for naught. The truth is this: Hamas, Fatah, and the whole of the Arab World will only be satisfied when Israel is driven into the sea. And even though Hamas may have agreed to the terms of a ceasefire today, it is difficult to take the word of a terrorist outfit as at all genuine.

Sometimes, the simplest adages are true, “If Arabs were to lay down their weapons, there would be peace in the Middle East today. If the Israelis were to lay down their weapons, there would be no more Israel.”

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Comments (24)

mkw22
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:03pm
to Blackhorse: totally agree with you

I heard that Hamas has (this is very sad to say) “stunt” dead people/kids that they bring out to show kids who have just been killed, and someone noticed that the same picture had been used before…
they do this a lot apparently, or have living people lie in areas that have been bombed so it looks like a lot of people have died. Hamas needs to be gone, period. They are terrorists. Anyone who supports them or has sympathy for them and the others in “Palestine” is uneducated. Period.

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Grand design
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:55pm
What civilians?

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- Dan_o
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 10:23am
  That’s exactly what I was thinking. They are living an area given to them out of appeasement. They were supposed to stop bombing, terrorizing, and causing problems for Israel if they got this land. At the very, very best they are spoiled little brats who need a good beat down.
  
  For those who don’t know, there are “Palestinians” living all over Israel. They completely rule Bethlehem and the east portion of Jerusalem. There is no peace in either of these areas. Jewish cab drivers will not take you to Bethlehem and the only reason Jerusalem is not in flames is the IDF is on every corner and there are undercover agents everywhere. There are completely sealed off checkpoints in the city of Jerusalem, too.
  
  The areas controlled by Palestinians make downtown Detroit look like the Ritz. There’s a reason they haven’t been welcomed in Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, SA, Egypt, UAE, etc., etc. They are a tool for those nations who are too cowardly to take action themselves.
  
  Report this comment
- carnivour
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:49pm
  That is a very sad truth. Childhood is robbed from their children through indoctrination, almost from birth. Life is cheap in Gaza, because the adults have chosen to cheapen it by design. Child sacrifice condoned by only the most distorted view of God. They sacrifice their children by killing them physically and psychologically. That is dedication, unfortunately to a very sick cause. Imagine what they would do to the parents in the west if they gave their toddlers guns to play with so they would be very comfortable handling one in later life. We can’t even spank our kids, but it’s OK for them to use them as staged targets of Israel. And most of the world falls for the propaganda. This is nuts, folks. Palastine/Hamas is a terrorist group of the people, by the people, for the people. You can’t help those who don’t want help. This will not get any better until Israel puts an end to it, and it’s not going to be pretty. And we will continue to be told all along that it’s all Israel’s fault.
  
  Report this comment
Jaycen
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:03pm
If Mexico lobbed rockets into Laredo, how long would Mexico exist? America wouldn’t put up with that for more than a few minutes before the entire might of our military rolled right up to Mexico City and we instituted “regime change”.

It’s insane that Israel shows this level of restraint. When your enemies are killing your civilians, you kill them back x 2. If someone gives you a black eye, you bloody his nose. If he shoves you, you take out a knee cap.

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justangry
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 7:05pm
Um, yeah. I think Israel has to do what it must, but I’m not banking on the Blaze to report the truth about anything Israel either. Not that the coverage is any worse than any other media outlet, but there’s a very pro Israel bias on this site. I don’t believe any contributors here could possible be impartial in presenting the facts… or “truth”.

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- Black Horse
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:23pm
  “but I’m not banking on the Blaze to report the truth about anything Israel either.”
  
  Because The Blaze and Mr. Beck lie about so many things, huh? What are you looking for, some pro-Hamas bias? Hamas is filth. Period. To call them animals or human would be to degrade both. They care nothing for their people, children or otherwise, unless it’s to use them as shields. They care even less about Israeli civilians, including children. They only want ALL Israelis dead.
  
  So, are you trying to say you support Hamas? Or hate Israelis? Every single member of Hamas needs to die. Tomorrow, if not sooner. Ditto, Hezbollah. Ditto every terrorist in the Middle East. If that sounds a bit harsh, guess what they want to do to us after they finish with Israel? That would incluse you, my friend.
  
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- justangry
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:47am
  Oh yes, because Libertarians support people that launch rockets at or strap bombs to themselves and blow up civilians. Get a grip!
  
  Report this comment
- Black Horse
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 7:34am
  Who the heck said anything about Libertarians? You’re the one slinging mud and borderline antisemitism. If you’re a Libertarian, it’s news to me. You seem to be a pretty poor example for them.
  
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- justangry
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 8:02am
  Look, are you denying the Blaze has a VERY pro-Israel bias? I wouldn’t go to Al Jazera for the truth on the matter for the same reason. Neither is impartial. That is my only point and it’s hardly anti-Semitic. Let me guess, you’re an evangelical Christian?
  
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- Dan_o
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 10:32am
  I get your point there are 2 sides to every argument, but even if 90% of the coverage about Hamas and Palestine was wrong and Israel was 5 times the instigator than is actually reported, you’d still have a clear choice in who is on the defensive and who has “small man’s complex”.
  
  Sometimes things are black and white. I know that doesn’t fit into your worldview, but that doesn’t make it not true.
  
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- resme
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 2:09pm
  “borderline antisemitism”
  
  Mention the word “israel” and you are a anti-semite, lol.
  
  Guess what? Palestinian people are semites. You are a anti-semite!
  
  Report this comment
- justangry
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 8:15pm
  @Dan_o, Yeah I don’t know crap. The organization our media often uses to cite human rights abuses in countries we want to bomb ignores the same organization that has listed close to a hundred Israeli violations in the past couple decades or so. So yeah, forgive me for not stepping up and saying I know what’s going on like everyone else here who’s obviously blowing smoke out their asses.
  
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- Black Horse
  Posted on November 23, 2012 at 3:00am
  @RESME: Sem·ite [ sé mt ] 1.member of Semitic-speaking people: a member of a Semitic-speaking people of Southwest Asia, including the Arab and Jewish peoples, and the ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, Carthaginians, Ethiopians, and Phoenicians
  2.offensive term: an offensive term for a Jew.
  
  Definiton number 2, idiot.
  
  @JUSTANGRY. You’d guess wrong. I don’t happen to be an evangelical Christian, not that it matters. I just know right from wrong, unlike some. Why, do you hate evangelical Christians as well as Jews?
  
  Report this comment
- Black Horse
  Posted on November 23, 2012 at 3:15am
  Actually, I just realized they screwed up on definition #2. I’m not so sure Jews consider the term “semite” as offensive. It’s more the fact that it’s used specifically in reference to Jews as opposed to Asians, for instance. Maybe it was a typo.
  
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- justangry
  Posted on November 23, 2012 at 6:46am
  Pfft! Whatever. Go back and read the thread. You called me a racist for pointing out the Blaze’s bias towards Israel. If that’s your definition of a racism, you’re pretty f**king stupid for using Al Sharpton-type tactics.
  
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- resme
  Posted on November 23, 2012 at 2:51pm
  including the Arab and Jewish peoples, and the ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, Carthaginians, Ethiopians, and Phoenicians
  
  Do you not read? Palestinian people are “arab”, lol. Anti-Semite = Anti Arab, :).
  
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- resme
  Posted on November 23, 2012 at 3:01pm
  Sem·ite
  1. A member of a group of Semitic-speaking peoples of the Near East and northern Africa, including the Arabs, Arameans, Babylonians, Carthaginians, Ethiopians, Hebrews, and Phoenicians.
  2. A Jew.
  3. Bible A descendant of Shem.”
  
  I see someone is editing the definition, LOL.
  
  Report this comment
krustypete
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 4:42pm
With 2 generation of children indoctrinated with hate towards Israel, Jews and Christians, there can be no lasting peace. Only prolonged periods of Hamas and Hezbolah rearmament.

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- rickc34
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 5:02pm
  The people of Gaza and Lebanon allow these terrorist to live among them means they support their actions against Israel. A cease fire only gives these groups time to reload . And wasn’t there a story about more rockets coming from Iran. Time is on their side.
  
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- Keatonc333
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 5:38pm
  A cease fire was just announced!!! POST IT BLAZE!
  
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- Dan_o
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 10:35am
  KEATONC333, are you implying they are not posting it because they are biased? Get a grip.
  
  Hamas fires 12 rockets after the “truce”. Didn’t see you comment about that.
  
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longknifed
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:10pm
Lol, looks like the Israel first blaze is doing some PR damage control. How about we have a national discussion about this supposed “special relationship” with Israel? It is actually UNCONSTITUTIONAL because this entangling, ONE-SIDED suicide pact is not even in written a treaty. THERE IS NO TREATY. Beck said we should have a national dialogue about socialism and whether we really want it, so why not this? This is America right?

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banjarmon
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 1:17pm
“There will be peace in the Middle East when Arabs learn to love their children more than they hate Israel.” — Golda Meir

Muslim Kids BLOWUP SO FAST!!!

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