Arsen Ostrovsky: “International law is clear that, when terrorists like Hamas embed themselves in civilian areas, they turn those sites into legitimate military targets and that any civilian death or harm that arises is therefore the sole responsibility of Hamas, especially in circumstances where the IDF went to extraordinary lengths to abide by the principles of proportionality and distinction, while taking every possible precaution to minimize harm to potential civilian casualties.

The fact of the matter is, war is ugly and devastating. But not every error or unintentional loss in civilian life is necessarily a war crime. We must not forget that, whereas Israel takes every precaution to avoid harm to civilians, Hamas has an utter disregard for human life, whether it be Palestinian or Israeli.

The international community would therefore be far better served to direct their outrage at Hamas, which continues to embed themselves in civilian areas and cynically use Palestinians in Rafah and across Gaza as human shields.”

Published in JNS, May 29, 2024.