Myth: Israel’s actions are contrary to international law.

Fact: Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of"violations of the laws of war” and the United Nations has opened an inquiry into alleged war crimes by Israel – though not of Hamas, which deliberately targets Israeli civilians as an ongoing policy.

In attacking legitimate military targets lodged among civilians, international law places full responsibility for any civilian deaths on the fighters who've embedded themselves. (The Conduct of Hostilities Under the Law of International Armed Conflict, Cambridge University Press, 2004)

Caught in the difficult situation of responding to rocket fire from within civilian areas, Israel’s army has taken unprecedented actions to limit human casualties, calling the cell phones of people near or in targets to warm them of imminent bombings, and dropping Arabic-language leaflets warning civilians, as well as the"knock on the door,” whereby Israel fires a small round to warn people to leave an area before a strike.

Alarmed that this might reduce civilian casualties, however, Hamas has forced Gazans to act as human shields for the many rocket launchers imbedded in private homes. The New York Times dramatically described the recipients of one such warning, who quickly marshaled family members – including children – to enter the targeted building, forming a human shield.

Published: www.aish.com July 31, 2014
https://chumly.com/n/279d1de