In which he shows that civilian casualties are actually quite low when put in context compared to other conflicts, and Israel is being held to a different standard than other nations.

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Many decry the number of casualties, particularly women and children, reported by the Hamas-run Gazan health ministry–over 20,000.

Set aside the unreliability of figures provided by Hamas–a terrorist organization that falsely accused Israel of killing 500 civilians with a rocket that was actually fired by Gazan militants. Even taken at face value, it is worth putting Hamas’ figures in “context” (a favorite word of Israel’s critics).

1. It’s been reported that 67% of Gazans killed have been women and children. But according to a 2022 UN report, in a typical war, 90% of casualties are civilians. Israel is actually causing fewer civilian deaths than in the typical conflict, notwithstanding the dense urban environment.

2. Upwards of 5,500 Gazan casualties–nearly 1/3 the total–are reported to be children. What is not reported is how many of those “children” are boys 17 and under carrying automatic rifles, and thus legitimate enemy combatants. Plus, over 1/2 Gaza’s population is under 18. So fewer minors are dying than one would expect if Israel were indiscriminately killing civilians.

3. What civilians typically do to survive a war is…leave. In Ukraine, within a month of Russia’s invasion, nearly 1/2 of the population had left their homes and 1/4 had left the country–some 14 million people. But neighboring Arab states have refused to accept Palestinian refugees. They claim if they do, Israel might make Gazans’ displacement permanent–a curious concern, given that Israel voluntarily left Gaza in 2005 and even forcibly evicted 9,000 Jewish residents. One would think a theoretical risk of displacement is better than a real risk of dying. Since Gazans can’t or won’t flee, the civilian death toll necessarily climbs, and Israel–not Hamas–continues to be blamed.

4. Responses to unprovoked attacks often cause more deaths than the attacks themselves. That doesn’t make the response illegitimate. The 9/11 attacks killed 3,000 American civilians. In the Afghan war that followed, between 46,000 and 360,000 civilians died.

The hatred of Israel is what’s disproportionate, not Israel’s response. No other nation would respond differently. Yet no other nation is as hated. Antisemitism, not body count, makes the difference.

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Originally posted here.