TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a “tragic mistake” was made in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that set fire to a camp housing displaced Palestinians and, according to local officials, killed at least 45 people.
The strike only added to the surging international criticism Israel has faced over its war with Hamas, with even its closest allies expressing outrage at civilian deaths. Israel insists it adheres to international law even as it faces scrutiny in the world’s top courts, one of which last week demanded that it halt the offensive in Rafah.
“Despite our utmost efforts not to harm innocent civilians, last night there was a tragic mistake,” Netanyahu said Monday in an address to Israel’s parliament. “We are investigating the incident and will obtain a conclusion because this is our policy.”
Mohammed Abuassa, who rushed to the scene in the northwestern neighborhood of Tel al-Sultan, said rescuers “pulled out people who were in an unbearable state.”
“We pulled out children who were in pieces. We pulled out young and elderly people. The fire in the camp was unreal,” he said.
…again.
Honestly, shit happens during the war. Yes, the mistakes should be investigated, guilty punished etc., but it is a big picture which is important, not a few incidents that are easy to use for propaganda and internet points.
In my mind there are 3 questions that needs to be answered
For the first question, I do not know how anyone with straight face can say that the war is not justified when a neighbor attacks you and purposely and barbarously kills 1300 people and takes about 200 hostages.
For the second quested, it is urban warfare, and if anyone cares to check, the ratio of 10 to 1 (civilian to military) is quite typical. In this war, Israel achieves ratio of better than 2 to 1, which says to me that IDF is really careful not to kill civilians unnecessarily.
It is the question (3) where I have problem with right now. Mostly because it is right wing government in Israel and there is no clear out of war path suggested after Hamas is destroyed. But here we can wait and see. Israel is a democracy and I hope her people will make right decision.