In Part 1, linked below, I looked at the Catholic Church’s criteria for just war and just conduct of war. Here I turn to the loss of civilian lives and physical destruction, and address the issue of Israel’s conduct of the war.

Hamas alleges a large number of deaths among Gazans, as many as 40,000, and almost 90,000 injured.[i] Of course, Hamas has an incentive to provide numbers higher than the actual figures and, in any case, in the midst of war it is difficult to ascertain accurate figures. Israel (which also has an incentive to provide numbers that support its aims) alleges, in a July 16 report, that it has killed or captured more than 14,000 of Hamas’s estimated 25,000 fighters.[ii] It also says that it has eliminated half the leadership of Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and that among those killed were 20 commanders of battalions, the largest grouping of Hamas’s forces, and 150 company commanders. So, it would seem that Israel has met more than half of its goal of destroying Hamas.

If we accept the Hamas figures of 40,000 Gazans killed, and deduct some 12,000 Hamas fighters (because, per Israel’s report, some of the 14,000 fighters were captured), as of this writing there were 28,000 Hamas civilians killed. Israel said in the same July 16 report that “it had struck 37,000 targets in Gaza from the air and more than 25,000 sites that it described as terrorist infrastructure and launch sites during the war. That figure did not appear to equate to the number of airstrikes, since some targets have been struck multiple times.”[iii] Thus, it had hit 62,000 targets. The arithmetic is one-half a civilian dead per target.

Moreover, many (we do not know how many) of the deceased civilians had been placed in harm’s way by Hamas. Here are two stark examples of Hamas putting Gazan civilians at risk:

• when IDF forces took Rantisi Hospital and killed Ahmed Siam, it “freed” 1,000 civilian patients used as human shields;[iv]
• when an Israeli army intelligence officer spoke by phone to a resident of Gaza pushing him to evacuate to the south, the Gazan declined, reporting, in a taped and publicly released call, that Hamas had placed cars to form roadblocks, sent people home, and shot at people trying to leave.[v]

This last example shows Israel giving evacuation orders to civilians,[vi] making phone calls to ensure evacuation has taken place. It also drops leaflets and knocks on doors.[vii] In addition, it uses precision bombs.[viii]

In his July 25 address to a joint session of Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted:

the war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatant casualties in the history of urban warfare. And you want to know where it’s lowest in Gaza? It’s lowest in Rafah. In Rafah. Remember what so many people said? If Israel goes into Rafah, there’ll be thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of civilians killed. Well, last week I went into Rafah. I visited our troops as they finished fighting Hamas’ remaining terrorist battalions. I asked the commander there, “How many terrorists did you take out in Rafah?” He gave me an exact number: 1,203. I asked him, “How many civilians were killed?” He said, “Prime Minister, practically none. With the exception of a single incident, where shrapnel from a bomb hit a Hamas weapons depot and unintentionally killed two dozen people, the answer is practically none.” You want to know why? Because Israel got the civilians out of harm’s way, something people said we could never do, but we did it.[ix]

Let me provide another example. On June 8, Israeli undercover operatives and commandos went into Nuseirat in broad daylight to two nearby locations in which four hostages were being held (notably, in private homes). After killing the captors, the Israelis sought to escape with the hostages. Given the crowded streets, Hamas fighters could have restrained themselves and let them leave. Instead, Hamas initiated the shootout, using gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. The Israeli response was overwhelming and resulted in many dead and wounded. According to Israel, 100 Palestinians were killed or injured, some of them by Hamas.[x] According to Gazan authorities, it was 274 Palestinians dead and nearly 700 wounded.[xi] Under American civil law, “danger invites rescue” and those who put someone in danger are liable for injuries suffered by those who would attempt rescue. Thus, Hamas is liable for the war crime of taking hostages, the war crime of putting them in private homes, and then initiating a shootout in a crowded area.

Turning to the issue of property damage: One can find online a large number of pictures of the destruction of property in Gaza and summaries of the number, or percentage, of homes, schools, hospitals, and other buildings either destroyed or rendered unusable. There are also stories on the number of tons of explosives used by Israel.[xii] The effect on the population has indeed been devastating.

It is not, however, the number or percentage of civilians dead or injured, or the number or type of buildings destroyed that renders the conduct of a war unjust. Israel commenced this war to render Hamas unable to inflict harm and clearly views the evils and disorders resulting from this war as not graver than the evil to be eliminated — namely, the destruction of the State of Israel and its population — and Israel claims it has not engaged in indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants. Rather, Israel claims it has engaged in discriminate destruction. And it is Hamas that refuses to surrender and has put its civilians in harm’s way by placing its fighters and weapons inside or under hospitals and schools and mosques.

Clearly it is very difficult for Israel to render Hamas unable to inflict harm while fulfilling its duty to limit destruction of human life and property. This has been made even more difficult by international pressure, including from the United States, to force Israel to accept a broad ceasefire (beyond the very limited ones for the delivery of humanitarian aid).[xiii] This pressure prolonged, and continues to prolong, the war. For example, Israel delayed commencing operations in southern Gaza, Rafah, from February through early May. The prolonged length of the war has: exacerbated tensions with Egypt; given Hezbollah incentive to sharpen its attacks on Israel, causing the evacuation of 50,000 Israelis and raising the prospects of a second front at which Israel must defend itself; and resulted in the unnecessary deaths of more Gazan civilians.

As I stated at the beginning of Part 1, I hope my words here will contribute to a conversation on assessing the morality of Israel’s actions.

[Link to Part 1 is here.]

[i] AFP, “Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza Says War Death Toll at 38,919,” Barrons, July 20, 2024, https://www.barrons.com/news/health-ministry-in-hamas-run-gaza-says-war-death-toll-at-38-919-9bc8e7f1

[ii] Matthew Mpoke Bigg, “Israel Gives an Indication of the War’s Toll on Hamas,” N.Y. Times, July 17, 2024 (regarding July 16 Israeli report), Israel’s Military Says It Eliminated Half the Leadership of Hamas Military Wing – The New York Times (nytimes.com). Bigg reports that the military did not say how it had arrived at that number, or how it had distinguished combatants from civilians.

[iii] Matthew Mpoke Bigg, “Israel Gives an Indication of the War’s Toll on Hamas,” N.Y. Times, July 17, 2024, Israel’s Military Says It Eliminated Half the Leadership of Hamas Military Wing – The New York Times (nytimes.com).

[iv] Tara Suter, “IDF Claims It Killed Hamas Commander Who Held Hospital Patients Hostage,” The Hill, Nov. 11, 2023, IDF claims it killed Hamas commander who held hospital patients hostage (thehill.com)

[v] “IDF: Gaza Resident Says Hamas Preventing Evacuations; Thousands Return North,” Times of Israel, Oct. 26, 2023, IDF: Gaza resident says Hamas preventing evacuations; thousands return north | The Times of Israel

[vi] Note the following, however: “militaries often treat the provision of warning as some carte blanche to turn an area into a free-fire zone…The problem Israel is having in Gaza is…not all civilians can or want to leave. Some are disabled, have nowhere to go, or just want to stay in their homes. Nothing legally compels them to leave.” Marc Galasco (led the UN’s protection of civilians office in Afghanistan in 2011; a consultant for the Pentagon’s Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan), “Legal Questions Answered and Unanswered in Israel’s Air War in Gaza,” Lawfare, Jan. 2, 2024, Legal Questions Answered and Unanswered in Israel’s Air War in Gaza | Lawfare (lawfaremedia.org).

[vii] E.g., Abeer Ayyoub and Stephen Kalin, “Residents Resist Israel’s Warning to Leave Gaza City,” N.Y. Times, July 19, 2024, p.A7; Hendrik van der Breggen, “In Defence of Israel,” Mercator, Nov. 1, 2023, In defence of Israel – Mercator (mercatornet.com).

[viii] Eight 2,000-pound precision bombs were used on July 13 in an attempt to kill Mohammed Deif, head of the Hamas military and second in target value to Hayya Sinwar, who was hiding with other Hamas fighters among civilians. Scores were killed and hundreds wounded. Dov Lieber et al., “Israeli Bombardment Targeted Militant,” Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2024, p.A8, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/to-target-a-top-militant-israel-rained-down-eight-tons-of-bombs-d04ae17b

See a detailed defense of the use of 2,000-pound bombs in Gaza by David Adesnik and Mark Montgomery, “The Big Lies About Israel’s Big Bombs,” Commentary, April 2024, The Big Lies About Israel’s Big Bombs – Commentary Magazine. Half, however, of bombs are unguided. Marc Galasco, “Legal Questions Answered and Unanswered in Israel’s Air War in Gaza,” Lawfare, Jan. 2, 2024, Legal Questions Answered and Unanswered in Israel’s Air War in Gaza | Lawfare (lawfaremedia.org).

[ix] Full Text of Netanyahu’s Address to Congress, July 25, 2024, Times of Israel, https://www.timesofisrael.com/were-protecting-you-full-text-of-netanyahus-address-to-congress/

[x] Marcus Walker and Dov Lieber, “How Israel Pulled Off a High-Risk Hostage Rescue,” Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/how-israel-pulled-off-a-high-risk-hostage-rescue-f2008e41?mod=article_inline.

[xi] Carrie Keller-Lynn, Abeer Ayyoub and Michael Amon,“How Israel Saved a Hostage Rescue Mission That Nearly Failed,” Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/how-israel-saved-a-hostage-rescue-mission-that-nearly-failed-eab2a010?mod=article_inline

[xii] E.g., Drs. Philip Webber and Stuart Parkinson, Scientists for Global Responsibility, “Gaza: One of the Most Intense Bombardments in History?,” Responsible Science Journal, Dec. 20, 2023, updated March 13, 2024, https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/gaza-one-most-intense-bombardments-history

[xiii] There was a pause between November 24 and 30, for an exchange of 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners. But there was an inordinate delay in commencing operations in Rafah from February through early May.