Al Qaeda wasn’t firing missiles at Washinghington from hospitals just outside America’s borders. It is hard to believe that people are still questioning whether Hamas is using hospitals for military purposes, when the independent organisations like the OHCHR has documented numerous instances.
I'm not contesting that Hamas was using hospitals; I'm contesting that every hospital Bombed was harboring Hamas. For example, if there were 10 hospitals potentially hiding hamas, and only 8 actually had terrorists in them, is the IDF justified in blowing up the other two? Or do they need intel?
If they had nothing to hide, the simple thing would be for the Hospital Administrators to let the IDF do a thorough search. Personally, I would have thought that an “occupier” would be able to walk in and look around, but the IDF had to fight their way in.
Israel claim to have intel the hospitals are being used for military purposes. Should we accuse Israel of war crimes on the assumption they are lying? The requirement for proof cuts both ways.
Regardless of which country is making this accusation: do you think there is a strong bipartisan interest in having a neutral third party (like the ICC or the UN) inspect the veracity of this evidence? Or at least make it public record? Perhaps there's security risks there, idk
Israel lost all trust in the UN when it allowed Yasser Arafat allowed to address the General Assembly in 1974. He was the leader of an organisation that was hijacking aircraft, etc, and had massacred the entire Israeli Olympic team 2 years before.
That has not changed. You only have to look at the statements of Francesca Albanese & some of the actions UNRWA, to see why Israel has a profound distrust of the UN. The UN & humanitarian organisations employ local people on the ground who are at the least are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
This is the closest thing to a good argument I've heard anyone supporting israel make. Do you mind if I take a comment or 4 to try and tease out my thinking of why this is at least Grey, if not that I'm on the right side here. For context, let's imagine it's Canada and America at war:
America bombs Canada, and Canada begins retaliating by claiming (with proper intel) that American Terrorists are hiding in American hospitals. Do you thinks it's right to say America should be forced to let Canadian authorities rummage through all of their hospitals? Would you see a security risk?
In this light, while Hamas is the aggressor since Oct 7th, I can see why non-Hamas civilians have unease around IDF inspecting their hospitals. Especially if there's a power imbalance, and the IDF could grab any civilian (claiming they're Hamas or not) and disappearing them.
Personally, a little unease is preferable to the roof coming down on my head. There were many legitimate reasons why the hospital authorities would not wish to submit to inspections, but they are not relevant when you are facing the barrel of a gun. As you mentioned there is a power imbalance.
From Israel’s point of view, the time for inspections was long passed, and the IDF were equally fearful of facing ambushes & booby traps. It’s why the IDF used bombing rather than house to house fighting, and why the civilian death toll is so high.
There was no strategic advantage for the IDF to hit hospitals in the vital early stage in the war if they were not being used for military purposes. It damaged Israel’s global image.
It has long been known that Hamas use hospital for military purposes. The fact that Israel couldn’t produce absolute proof hospitals were being as “Command Centres” is a red herring. Israeli drones & track the Hamas leadership, and see them going in and out of the hospitals often.
That fact that medical staff refute Israel’s claims doesn’t change my mind. They may not have any choice but to turn a blind eye, but it would still make them complicit.
They could have probably tracked them entering and exiting a grocery store a lot, should we bomb those too? Like holy shit man, your burden of proof is NOTHING for this. What's your burden of proof for the starvation and the torture and the genocide? I imagine sky high
If this is the issue you have, negotiating for a safe and secure and humanitarian evacuation of civilians should have been completed. Instead, Israel has trapped them in Gaza, with almost nobody allowed to leave. And IDF can't bomb over fight in house the same reason cops can't use rocket launchers