Israel formally declares war against Hamas as it battles to push militants off its soil | CNN
www.cnn.com
Israel formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday, setting the stage for a major military operation in Gaza as fighting rages on Israeli soil. The declaration comes after Hamas, an Islamist militant group, launched a surprise assault this weekend that has so far killed over 600 Israelis.

Israel formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday, setting the stage for a major military operation in Gaza as fighting rages on Israeli soil. The declaration comes after Hamas, an Islamist militant group, launched a surprise assault this weekend that has so far killed over 600 Israelis.

Saturday was the deadliest day in decades for Israel and came after months of surging violence between Palestinians and Israelis, with the long-running conflict now heading into uncharted and dangerous new territory. Questions remain over how the Israeli military and intelligence apparatus appeared to be caught off guard in one of the country’s worst security failures.

Over 400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as Israel responds with airstrikes in the densely-inhabited enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed retaliation, warning his country would take “mighty vengeance” and was readying for “a long and difficult war.”

He urged Palestinians living in Gaza to “leave now.”

  • @jetAEnglish
    5•9 months ago

    Intent is interperative and very hard to prove, we can measure non-combatant deaths. If a building is bombed to kill a single solider does it matter if there are 99 non-combatents in the building? What if the wrong building was hit and no soldiers die?

    Air raid reprisals by their very nature will have civilian collateral, explaining to people that these civilian deaths are ok but not opposing civilian deaths… is not going to erode support for Hamas.

    There used to be a military doctrine that all able bodied people of fighting age were legitimate military targets, the intent isn’t to harm civilians but to diminish military man power reserves. Does that makes it ok to kill civilians who are potential soldiers? If that’s ok, then a dance party is filled with military candidates as well as a refugee shelter…

    There are no winners when we say civilian deaths are ok for me but not for thee. Civilians should be able to opt out of fighting… by fleeing to safety…