Condemning the attack is not possible without knowing its crimes, but Israel has obscured its actual war crimes with a deluge of lies, highlighting the need for an international investigation.
“After having spent their lives in a concentration camp that the United Nations deemed “uninhabitable,” it is easy to understand the desperation, whatever we might say about the prudence and morality of their plans.”
They spent their lives in a self-governed “concentration camp” financed by a billion dollars a year from Qatar because Hamas refuses to accept that Israel has a right to coexist in the region and continually launched missiles and terrorist attacks against Israel. I would contend that there was “desperation” on both sides and even with the Palestinian Authority government attempting to work out a two-state solution with the Israelis. Sadly, their isolation was self-inflicted and unnecessary.
As for the “morality” of their plans, gleefully killing unarmed civilians is certainly immoral. Then scurrying back into tunnels using unarmed Gazans as human shields as they fired more rockets to provoke a response and turned fellow citizens into “collateral damage” for their “cause” is inhumane and indefensible. There were many other options than this obscene blood bath and to condone such actions also is indefensible.
"Hamas also achieves practical and propagandistic goals by putting Palestinians in harm’s way. More civilians in combat zones mean more human shields for its forces. More dead and wounded Palestinians mean more sympathy for its side and more condemnation of Israel.
That’s why Hamas turned Gaza’s central hospital into its headquarters during the 2014 conflict. It’s why it stored rockets in schools. It’s why it has used mosques to store guns. It’s why it fires rockets from Gaza’s densely populated areas. It does all this knowing that Israel, which has agreed to abide by the laws of war, tries to avoid hitting those targets — and, when it does hit them, that it will result in accusations of war crimes and diplomatic demands for restraint. Either way, Hamas gains an edge."
“After having spent their lives in a concentration camp that the United Nations deemed “uninhabitable,” it is easy to understand the desperation, whatever we might say about the prudence and morality of their plans.”
They spent their lives in a self-governed “concentration camp” financed by a billion dollars a year from Qatar because Hamas refuses to accept that Israel has a right to coexist in the region and continually launched missiles and terrorist attacks against Israel. I would contend that there was “desperation” on both sides and even with the Palestinian Authority government attempting to work out a two-state solution with the Israelis. Sadly, their isolation was self-inflicted and unnecessary.
As for the “morality” of their plans, gleefully killing unarmed civilians is certainly immoral. Then scurrying back into tunnels using unarmed Gazans as human shields as they fired more rockets to provoke a response and turned fellow citizens into “collateral damage” for their “cause” is inhumane and indefensible. There were many other options than this obscene blood bath and to condone such actions also is indefensible.
"Hamas also achieves practical and propagandistic goals by putting Palestinians in harm’s way. More civilians in combat zones mean more human shields for its forces. More dead and wounded Palestinians mean more sympathy for its side and more condemnation of Israel.
That’s why Hamas turned Gaza’s central hospital into its headquarters during the 2014 conflict. It’s why it stored rockets in schools. It’s why it has used mosques to store guns. It’s why it fires rockets from Gaza’s densely populated areas. It does all this knowing that Israel, which has agreed to abide by the laws of war, tries to avoid hitting those targets — and, when it does hit them, that it will result in accusations of war crimes and diplomatic demands for restraint. Either way, Hamas gains an edge."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/15/opinion/columnists/hamas-war-israel-gaza.html