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Under Scrutiny over Gaza, Israel Points to Civilian Toll of U.S. Wars

(New York Times) Michael Crowley - Facing global criticism over its military campaign in Gaza, Israeli officials have turned to history in their defense, citing Western military actions in urban areas where innocent civilians paid the price for the defeat of enemies. In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as many as 200,000 civilians perished after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs to force Japan's surrender. In Iraq, hundreds of civilians were killed in Falluja as U.S. forces fought Iraqi insurgents, and thousands died in Mosul in Iraqi and American battles against the Islamic State. Israel insists that it is trying to limit civilian casualties in a war which began when Hamas killed 1,400 people on Oct. 7 in Israel, most of them civilians. Israeli officials say Hamas is clearly guilty of intentionally murdering Israeli civilians. Israel says it is impossible to defeat its enemy without killing innocents - a lesson that Americans and their allies should understand. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told PBS on Oct. 24 that Israel's ratio of Hamas fighters to civilians killed "compares very well to NATO and other Western forces" in past military campaigns.
2023-11-07 00:00:00
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