While Palestinian terrorists seek to maximize civilian casualties, Israel does everything in its power to minimize harm to civilians.

One core value of the Israel Defense Forces is the protection of human life and dignity. The Israeli military uses various strategies to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians—from dropping leaflets to diverting missiles mid-air. The IDF Code of Ethicsreads, "The IDF and its soldiers are obligated to protect human dignity. Every human being is of value regardless of his or her origin, religion, nationality, gender, status or position."

Operation Protective Edge, 2014

Reportsafter the 2014 Operation Protective Edge war demonstrated the illegal, terrorist tactics of Hamasas well as the IDF’s efforts to protect innocent civilians. The UN damage assessment reportproved Israel was targeting tunnels and command centers, not civilians, and an Israeli reportuncovered what the media did not. Hamas fired 4,500 rockets into Israel endangering the lives of 6 million people.

Rockets were launched from Gaza next to churches, mosques, schools, UN buildings, hotels, and residential areas, endangering the inhabitants. Had Israel not takengreat measures to save the lives of civilians, urban warfare in a city as densely populated as Gaza City would have resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. Hamas had spent over $100 million in digging some 40 tunnelsinto Israel with the intent of carrying out terrorist attacks (see below), kidnappings, and creating widespread chaos. They also planned to take over the West Bank, oust the Palestinian Authority government, and set up a terrorist operation from there. Hamas fighters wore everyday clothing so they were indistinguishable from civilians, released phony civilian casualty statistics, and censored and threatened foreign journalistsso they would not reveal Hamas activities.

The UN cooperated with Hamas, and while condemning Israel’s actions taken in self-defense, never condemned Hamas’ terrorist activities nor initiation of the conflict.

Israel-Hamas war, 2023–

Four months after Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to a war with Hamas throughout Gaza, a West Point urban warfare expert said the IDF has implemented "more measures to prevent civilian casualties than any other military in history." Israel consistently and humanely warns residents to leave and evacuate urban areas before air and/or ground attacks begin, by using thousands of leaflets, cell phone calls, texts, and voicemails to alert civilians. Israel has demonstrated a commitment to adhering to the principles of international lawto minimize casualties.

In contrast, Hamas tells residents notto leave so they can use civilians as human shields, and Hamas militants launch rockets from Gazan civilian areas. Even so, Israel is condemned for its "failure" to protect civilians" and is said to be committing genocide, while the International Court of Justice (ICEJ) disregards Hamas' genocidal jihadist agenda (even though Hamas cannot produce proof of actual civilian casualties). Not surprisingly, the UN sharply adjusted the number of female and child fatalities by half in May 2024—sadly, many months after media outlets had already been communicating inflated and unverified numbers.

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