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Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/the-worlds-been-too-rough-with-israel
The World's Been Too Rough with Israel
(National Interest) Ludovic Hood - Israel's response to the October 2023 Hamas-led massacres and kidnappings of over one thousand civilians, as well as to missile and drone attacks from Iran and its regional militias, has been vigorous. Pursuing victory - ending the threats to Israeli towns and cities from Hamas in Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and the regime in Tehran - requires the application of determined, and at times overwhelming, military force. In Gaza, Israel's army has been operating in some of the most difficult urban warfare conditions in history. Tragically, thousands of Palestinian civilians have died during the fighting over the past two years. But here is a simple truth: Hamas's leaders could have released the hostages and ordered their men to lay down their arms at any point. They knew Palestinian women and children would be collateral damage as they fired missiles and launched attacks from apartment buildings, inviting airstrikes. Preeminent news outlets routinely accept Hamas's allegations and lies at face value and downplay or overlook the group's actions, whether its use of human shields that have caused thousands of civilian deaths or its vicious tyranny and misogyny. The coverage and political gesturing in the West have been, at best, disproportionate and prejudiced, and, at worst, dishonest, malicious, and likely to extend the war and the suffering. The writer is a career U.S. Foreign Service Officer with two decades of experience working on Middle East affairs.