Since October 7, more than 3,257 children have been reported killed, including at least 3,195 in Gaza, 33 in the West Bank, and 29 in Israel, according to the Ministries of Health in Gaza and Israel respectively. The number of children reported killed in just three weeks in Gaza is more than the number killed in armed conflict globally – across more than 20 countries – over the course of a whole year, for the last three years.
Likely yes. Israel has a parliamentary system so there are always going to be an official in government with a wild take because they’re the last x% of the coalition that got brought in to push them over the top. If they (Israel) wanted to maximize casualties the more reasonable parts of the coalition would fall apart.
Israel could easily justify tomahawk sized cruise missiles. 20 or so of them would largely wipe out northern Gaza City. And just one into one of the Southern Gaza camps would kill more than the war has so far. So yes you can believe they want to, but you do have to believe them to be incredibly incompetent.
I believe them to have decades of experience managing their foreign advisors and funding, and are skilled at carefully balancing their war against an innocent and subjected people. You’re probably right though that they could basically nuke Gaza and get away with it, but they wouldn’t because the radiation would harm them too. In a war, isn’t it relevant who started the conflict and for what purpose? Who was the first aggressor in the conflict between Isreal and Palestine?
Gaza isn’t large. They could do it with conventional weapons that have no radiation problems. The risk of nuclear fallout isn’t why they haven’t eliminated Gaza, the lack of desire to eliminate Gaza is.
In this conflict, Hamas’ started the conflict. As for who the “first” aggressors; it would depend on how back you wish to look. If we limit the problem to just post British takeover of the region, than the first aggressors were the British fighting the Ottomans and following it up by enforcing property tax law against the primarily Arab populace who hadn’t paid property taxes in a 1000 years to the Ottomans.