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.
Absolutely, 100%. Human rights organisations are not unbiased news outlets - they have agendas and objectives. Their objectives are commendable ones, and the work they do is invaluable, but they still utilise propaganda as a means to an end. As good and important as this end is, their reports should be received with the same amount of caution and critical thinking as any report coming from anyone with an objective in this.
That’s just a straw man. I never suggested that it’s not that many. It can be 3,257 and it could be 0. I just pointed out the information manipulation.
It’s never ok, but unfortunately this is war and war is shit. An ak47 in the hands of a 12 years old can kill just as well as one in the hands of a 20 years old.
Another point for you to consider is that traditionally, in the Philippines, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Cambodia, many regions of Africa and essentially wherever there were children-soldiers, the ones that indoctrinated them, trained them and placed firearms in their hands were the ones who were blamed for their deaths.
You seem to hold Israel as the only one accountable for it.
They are the ones dropping the bombs on them in a city they surrounded with walls? When should they be held to account for these virtual murders? This is an offensive action, not a defensive one. These kids aren’t coming at soldiers in waves, they’re being crushed under rubble from bombs dropping on the places they are attempting to find safety. Whole families dying like that.
You need to get out of whatever echo chamber you’re in.
Sorry, the only echos I hear is the horrified screams of children getting bombs dropped on them as they starve and die of thirst in Gaza. Maybe help them get out?
What do you mean? You can watch it happening, it’s not a secret. There aren’t attacks on Israel right now, they aren’t being invaded, Gazans are pinned in a box being slaughtered in one of the densest cities in the world.
What? Of course there are attacks on Israel right now.
There is ongoing mortar and rocket fire from Gaza on Israel
Also Lebanon fires rockets hitting Israel, in collaboration with Palestine
The death toll in Israel is lower because they have infrastructure that protects the civilians from the rockets.
While in Gaza the population is extremely dense with about 12000 people per square kilometre and no shelters.
Also Hamas wants civilians to stay in the zones because Hamas entire defense strategy depends on Israel killing civilians in Gaza. If that wasn’t happening, much less people would stand behind Palestine.
You can find here an analysis from the NATO on how Hamas uses “human shields”.
You do realise that Hamas is also dropping bombs on Israel the whole time, yes?
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So could you clarify your point:
And while at it, could you please clarify the morality of killing kids in their beds by bombing the houses they are living in? Or we should just preemptively kill any kid as they might turn into future terrorists.
Oh and by the way, I am pretty sure the Palestinian population are viewing the Israelian as terrorists and Hamas as liberators the same way you see Palestinians and IDF. So the terrorist designation all depends on the point of view and who’s in charge.
Not defending Hamas, giving you just some food for thought maybe and if you disagree with this statement, could you provide me a definition of a terrorist and try to apply it through the eye of the regular Gazan.
I really couldn’t say in this case, and I’m very happy that I’m not the one that has to make this choice . Quite a few soldiers in conflict areas lost their lives because they couldn’t either.
Read my first sentence in the original message.
There’s point of view and there is the international law. The legal terms is that the IDF is a country’s military and as such it is expected to uphold international treaties, it is held to high standards and it receives a lot scrutiny when it goes out of line or makes mistakes. Hamas is a terror organisation and therefore none of this applies to it, but also killing its operatives is not considered murder or a war crime.
If you’re asking for my personal opinion - it’s about intent. Organisations that have the clear intentions to kill and hurt as many civilians as possible are clearly terrorist organisations. Internationally recognised organisations that do not and try to minimise civilians casualties are not. Everything in between is a case by case gray area.
I can’t attest to what the average person in Gaza thinks, but I reckon after 20 years of Hamas rule a lot of the people are already indoctrinated and their world view, specifically regarding Jewish people, is at least somewhat detached from reality. This is clearly reflected in the pro Palestinian Arabic social media profiles.
The terrorist designation of a group is specific to the countries calling that group a terrorist group. Most nations of the world actually do not designate Hamas as a terror group. There is still a responsibility for a state military to adhere to international laws of conflict when engaging a non-state group.