In answer to: Israel isn’t targeting civilians and celebrating it

In response to a comment I got that Israel was the lesser evil due to the fact that they 'didn't target civilians and celebrate it', I wanted to write a fact-based response, sourced with 38 Western and Israeli sources to show that this is not the case. This is not a commentary on my personal beliefs. These are facts to point out that 1- Israel does, in fact, target civilians and 2- commits war crimes and has historically done so.

I do not believe that other sources such as first hand accounts coming out on social media or newspapers such as Al-Jazeera are inherently wrong. However, as this is a piece to showcase facts to people who believe Israel committing war crimes is a conspiracy theory, I thought it would be best to stick to Western and Israeli sources alone.

This was also written a few days ago--the West Bank death toll has since risen from events including Israel bombing a mosque [37]

In 2018, peaceful Palestinian protests were met with disproportionate violence; 6106 protestors were shot by Israeli snipers and 39 journalists hit (hitting journalists is a war crime) [1].

“Men, women and children demanded recognition of the right of Palestinian refugees in Gaza and elsewhere to return to their ancestral homes in Israel and for an end to a punishing blockade that has made life unliveable…Children, journalists and medics have been killed, even when they were standing far back from the fence. The UN has said Israel’s military may have committed war crimes, deliberately targeting civilians.”

These peaceful protests led to almost 29,000 injuries and 194 Palestinian deaths at the hands of Israeli soldiers. [2] This is one of the most recent and clearest undebatable examples of Israeli disproportionate force towards Palestinian civilians.

Since the conflict in October has began, Israel has announced that it will be cutting off water and electricity in a complete siege. This is a war crime as it is the deliberate starvation of civilians (Rome Statue Article 8 B XXV) [3]. To make things worse, the water has to be provided by Israel as Israel has systematically destroyed Palestinian water sources. One UN document from April 2022 reads

“Israeli authorities did not allow Palestinian communities to get connected to the water grid and even demolish water distribution systems built without permits, which were almost never granted to Palestinians, while settlers took over water springs in those same areas. As a result, Palestinian communities must purchase their water at a cost six times higher than the regular price and transport it by tankers which were often confiscated by Israeli authorities.” [4]

On October 11, Israel military officials said that they were moving away from precision bombing in favour of damage and destruction [5]. This is also a war crime (Rome Statute 8 B I, iv, xx). Israeli military has also been found to use white phosphorus in the most recent conflict as well as in 2008 (after lying and initially denying it). [6] [7] This is a violation of international humanitarian law [8] as WP can burn at up to 800 degrees and can cause long term effects on people who are affected (side note, it’s really not hard to find videos of children being burnt by WP on instagram but I haven’t added them in as a source). It’s also a war crime (Rome Statute 8 B xviii). Israel has also most recently targeted an Orthodox Church. [9] This is a war crime (Rome Statute 8 B ix). Israel has targeted schools [10] and killed 11 UN staff [11]. This is not a new thing, Israel has targeted and hit schools where Palestinians were sheltering in 2009 (despite the mortar being determined as not originating from the school) [12] and 2021 [13]. This is a war crime (Rome Statute 8 B ix). Israel also recently targeted a refugee camp. [26]

Israel also has routinely been under fire for their lax attitude towards raping Palestinians. In 2016, their military chief rabbi-designate said

“…[in response to] to a question about the Bible’s attitude toward rape during war, in the “Ask the Rabbi” section of kipa.co.il.

He responded that in the interests of maintaining warriors’ morale and fighting fitness during armed conflict, it was permitted to “satisfy the evil inclination by lying with attractive Gentile women against their will”.” [14]

In one study of 60 cases of Palestinian boys and men imprisoned by Israeli officials,

“Findings show that sexual ill-treatment is systemic, with 36 [60%] reports of verbal sexual harassment, either directed toward Palestinian men and boys or toward family members, and 35 [58%] reports of forced nudity. Moreover, there are six testimonies of Israeli officials involved in physical sexual assault of arrested or imprisoned Palestinian men. Physical assault in most cases concerned pressing and/or kicking the genitals, while one testimony pertained to simulated rape, and another described an actual rape by means of a blunt object.” [15]

Similarly, Save the Children found that “Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system face physical and emotional abuse, with four out of five (86%) of them being beaten, and 69% strip-searched”. [16]

This isn’t even beginning to touch the way that Israel demanded everyone evacuate within 24 hours, a move decried by multiple humanitarian groups [17], subsequently to only then bomb evacuating Gazans, killing 70 [18] (update 22/10: Israel has informed that those who stay in Gaza City will be considered as terrorists. There are children, elderly, and injured who cannot evacuate [38].) Shortly after, Israel bombed south Gaza, where it ordered people to flee [19]. Israel also bombed the Rafah Crossing to Egypt [20]; this means that Gazans are forced to stay in Gaza where they cannot escape carpet bombing.

If it wasn’t clear enough that Israel is looking to exterminate all Palestinians, you can have a look at the video of Ezra Yachin, a 95 year old IDF veteran who has told troops

“Be triumphant and finish them off and don’t leave anyone behind. Erase the memory of them. Erase them, their families, mothers and children. These animals can no longer live... Every Jew with a weapon should go out and kill them. If you have an Arab neighbor, don’t wait, go to his home and shoot him... We will witness things we've never dreamed of. Let them drop bombs on them and erase them.” [21]

The West Bank also isn’t faring well, despite having nothing to do with Hamas—at least 2 villages have been completely depopulated [22] and 61 (update 22/10, I believe the number is now 89) civilians, including children, killed [23] by Israeli settlers since October 7. If Israel isn’t targeting civilians, why are they killing West Bank civilians?

There is of course, the problem of Palestinian Christian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, murdered by Israeli forces who only admitted it one year later [24]. I probably don’t need to repeat myself, but this is, in fact, a war crime. Prior to the current war, 


“The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published a report that said it had found no accountability was taken by the Israeli military over its killings of at least 20 journalists over the past two decades. The press advocacy group said it had documented at least 20 journalists killed by Israeli military fire since 2001, adding 18 of those killed were Palestinian.” [24]

Since October 7, CPJ has found that 22 journalists were confirmed dead (18 Palestinian, 3 Israeli, and 1 Lebanese). 15 are directly attributed to Israeli air strikes. [25]

Israeli ministers and newspaper also celebrate the destruction of Palestine in its entirety, not just Hamas. For example, in March 2023, one senior minister said that “…Huwara [West Bank village] needs to be wiped out. I think the state of Israels should do it.” [34] A now-deleted blog in Times of Israel from May 2023 wrote

“In order to right a wrong, in order to make peace and move forward, Palestine must be obliterated. It is an afront to society, morality, humanity. It represents lies and antisemitism, oppression and terror. Nothing more.

No one cares about the Palestinians.” [35]

Similarly, in 2014, Times of Israel published an op-ed titled “When Genocide is Permissible”. In it, the author writes

“What other way then is there to deal with an enemy of this nature other than obliterate them completely?…Anyone who lives with rocket launchers installed or terror tunnels burrowed in or around the vicinity of their home cannot be considered an innocent civilian…If political leaders and military experts determine that the only way to achieve its goal of sustaining quiet is through genocide is it then permissible to achieve those responsible goals?” [36]

The concept that Israelis aren’t celebrating the destruction of Gaza is also false; in 2014, the NYT published a piece “Israelis Watch Bombs Drop on Gaza From Front-Row Seats”, and reported on Israelis “…who cheered on their military from plastic chairs while eating popcorn.” [27] There are also videos of Israelis chanting “There is no school tomorrow; there are no children left in Gaza…I hate all Arabs…Gaza is a cemetery.” [28]

Israel is currently under investigation by the ICC for crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since June 2014 [29]. Israel refuses to cooperate [30]. Israel is also currently under investigation by the ICJ for Polices and Practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories [31]. Israel was also found guilty by the ICJ in 2004 for the construction of the Gaza Wall (2 years before it completed). The ICJ found that the wall

“…constituted a breach by Israel of certain of its obligations under humanitarian and human rights law. Lastly, the Court concluded that Israel could not rely on a right of self-defence or on a state of necessity in order to preclude the wrongfulness of the construction of the wall, and that such construction and its associated régime were accordingly contrary to international law.” [32]

Final fact—Israel, in fact, funded Hamas as a way to prevent the Palestinian authority “from advancing toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.” [33]

Melissa has a BSc International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

If you found this useful, please donate to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, Doctors Without Borders, or Medical Aid for Palestinians. Please call and email your representatives to demand a ceasefire. If you're in the UK, here's an email campaign link to make it easier for you.

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Sources

[1] https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/co-iopt/report2018-opt

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2019/mar/29/a-year-of-bloodshed-at-gaza-border-protests

[3] https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule53

[4] https://www.un.org/unispal/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CHAIRSUM27APRIL22VE_060522.pdf

[5] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/11/israel-abandon-precision-bombing-eliminate-hamas-officials/

[6] https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/10/13/idf-white-phosphorus-oct-2023/

[7] https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/gaza-indisputable-evidence-israels-use-white-phosphorus-against-civilians

[8] https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/12/israel-white-phosphorus-used-gaza-lebanon

[9] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/20/gaza-church-struck-israeli-missile-sheltering-palestinians/

[10] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/least-6-people-killed-israeli-air-strike-unrwa-school-gaza-2023-10-17/

[11] https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/11/world/un-gaza-funding-deaths-intl/index.html

[12]https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/world/middleeast/08scene.html?em

[13] https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/eight-palestinian-children-killed-gaza-strip-last-night

[14] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-rabbi/israeli-military-chief-rabbi-designate-under-fire-over-remarks-on-rape-idUSKCN0ZS1Q3

[15] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.rhm.2015.11.019

[16] https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/news/media-centre/press-releases/new-research-reveals-ongoing-violence-on-palestinian-children--#:~:text=Ramallah%2C%2010%20July%20%E2%80%93%20Palestinian%20children,research%20by%20Save%20the%20Children.

[17] https://time.com/6323333/israel-evacuation-gaza/

[18] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna120252

[19] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67133803

[20] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-middle-east-67128770

[21] https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/israeli-veteran-95-tells-soldiers-143818

[22] https://theintercept.com/2023/10/13/israel-settlers-gaza-palestinians-west-bank/

[23] https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/19/middleeast/west-bank-settler-attacks-israel-cmd-intl/index.html

[24] https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/11/middleeast/idf-apology-shireen-abu-akleh-intl/index.html

[25] https://cpj.org/2023/10/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/

[26] https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/10/09/gaza-al-shati-refugee-camp-israel-airstrike-cnc-vpx.cnn

[27] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/world/middleeast/israelis-watch-bombs-drop-on-gaza-from-front-row-seats.html

[28] https://www.timesofisrael.com/watch-far-right-israelis-celebrate-gaza-kids-deaths/

[29] https://www.icc-cpi.int/palestine

[30] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-56687437

[31] https://www.icj-cij.org/case/186

[32] https://www.icj-cij.org/case/131

[33] https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/

[34] https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-should-wipe-out-palestinian-town-of-huwara-says-senior-minister-smotrich/

[35] https://web.archive.org/web/20230518125244/https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/moving-forward-on-palestine/

[36] https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/times-of-israel-genocide-article-post-deleted_n_5641971

[37] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/world/middleeast/israel-west-bank-air-strike-mosque.html

[38] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-tells-gazans-move-south-or-risk-being-seen-terrorist-partner-2023-10-22/