The Hamas – Israel War
On October 7th, 2023, the Hamas organization invaded Israel and brutally massacred and attacked civilians in southern Israel. 1,300 Israelis were murdered and hundreds were abducted into Gaza.
Hamas’ brutal invasion and non-stop rocket fire toward Israel catalyzed the ongoing war against Hamas, in which the IDF has only one goal: dismantle the Hamas terrorist organization’s military and administrative capabilities.
1. What are the objectives of Israel’s military operation?
Israel is seeking to secure the release of the infants, children, women, and men being held as hostages in Gaza, and to deny Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza the capacity to continue attacking its citizens and territory as they have explicitly vowed to do.
2. What is the cause of Palestinian civilian casualties?
The brutal massacre of October 7 initiated armed hostilities in which Hamas has sought to use the Palestinians civilian population as its shield. While Israel is committed to minimizing civilian harm and to abiding by international law, the military strategy of armed groups in Gaza is grounded in contempt for the law and the perverse exploitation of civilians.
3. Why has there not been a permanent ceasefire agreement?
A ceasefire would allow Hamas to get away with murder – literally – and prepare to commit it again.
4. Have Israel’s past restrictions on Gaza contributed to the current situation?
Hamas’s terror is not a result of Israeli restrictions. Israeli past restrictions were the direct result of Hamas’s terror.
7. What is Israel’s response to the charge its actions against Hamas amount to collective punishment of the civilian population?
Israel’s operations are aimed against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and are undertaken in order to neutralize the threat posed by them and secure the release of the hostages. Israel does not seek to harm the civilian population in Gaza.
8. Why is Israel’s response to Hamas’s attacks proportionate?
Proportionality under international law is not tit for tat. Israel’s actions are proportionate to the grave threat it faces, and comply with the legal requirement that the expected civilian harm resulting from an attack not be excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage that is being sought. Israeli strikes that do not meet this threshold have been, and will continue to be, aborted.
