[Saqe]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

It has everything to do with them. It always does.

This is super vague and totally beside the point. You are saying humanitarian organizations, like the Red Cross, know something about the whereabouts of Hamas that subsequently lead to targeting certain buildings or areas. And they can evaluate whether Hamas is actually present in a target. There was a total breakdown by Mossad that led to the initial terror attack, even they didn't know what Hamas was up to. THEY are trying figure out where Hamas is. I really doubt Red Cross has some inside info.

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

You’re the one who has made a complex set of rules that determine who we can trust about what, excluding as many people and organizations as possible. It’s obvious that a lot of things have happened, but your position is that nobody here can know those things and no organizations on the ground that aren’t military can know those things, not even the people who it’s happening to. Are you serious?

Again, I don't think you can trust either side to be unbiased about what's happening on the ground right now. Unless they both say the same thing, like on the terror attack, then it's probably true. Like how do you know that Hamas isn't putting out a ton interviews as propaganda where people under their control are made to make up stories about what's going on. I would absolutely expect that to happen. Assuming that these interviews are credible seems like a low bar for accurate information.

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

My expectation is that they follow international law in general and specifically international humanitarian law, which is quite literally the expectation of every participant in armed conflict.

Why do you believe the options are either to disregard and/or outright violate international humanitarian law and do nothing? Why is any criticism or judgement under the terms of those expectations synonymous with the suggestion that they shouldn’t be doing anything at all?

Or, what I’m saying is that Israel is disregarding civilian lives in a way violates their duty to do so in pursuit of Hamas. That evacuating a hospital, which you call “minimizing casualties” and the WHO calls “a death sentence” for those civilians requiring the care of that hospital, will be extremely hard to justify based on the military outcome it achieves.

We know that Israel indiscriminately bombs entire areas. We know that the UN has cited instances of Israel targeting or indiscriminately bombing civilians. We know that Israel has engaged in collective punishment. We know that, among other things, Israel has shown a disregard for Palestinian civilians in the days, weeks, months, and years leading up to this specific period of conflict. History has taught us that… but you’re saying it’s impossible to believe that they’re doing it again… despite people on the ground saying otherwise.

I don’t get it.

You seem to be doing a lot of hand waving without offering any solution. Should Israelis lower their weapons and go home to wait for another Hamas attack? What if the only way to get rid of Hamas is to accept civilian casualties in the process because they are being used as human shields? Just repeating that international law can't be broken isn't a solution.

And by the way Hamas doesn't give #### about humanitarian law and neither does any other terrorist organization. And I don't think anyone is expecting that in an armed conflict.