Hamas is ultimately responsible for all deaths, including civilians, in Gaza

The death of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) international aid workers in Gaza this week was a profound tragedy.

Humanitarian aid workers like WCK play an essential role in helping those most in need in the most difficult circumstances. They are true heroes who literally risk their lives in times of war and crisis, such as the current situation in Gaza.

It is therefore understandable that immense emotion and anger erupted against Israel, which unintentionally struck a vehicle carrying seven aid workers. But we also have to be mindful of the fact that we are only in this terrible situation. To date, Hamas has taken more than 100 hostages in the Gaza Strip, ironically using Palestinian civilians as human shields.

Some people reflexively accuse the IDF of deliberately targeting civilians. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, it is a malicious distortion of the truth.

The IDF is committed to an unprecedented effort not seen in the history of modern warfare to abide by the laws of war and avoid harm to civilians, even if doing so puts the IDF’s own soldiers at risk. I have paid. This includes warning of impending attacks and creating safe passageways for civilians to evacuate. They have done this while continuing to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and supplies.

Unfortunately, errors are an inevitable consequence of war, especially in complex terrain such as urban battlefields.

The US itself also accidentally killed nine aid workers and their families, including seven children, after targeting the wrong vehicle in a drone strike in Kabul during its withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. .

Gen. Frank McKenzie, then commander of U.S. Central Command, called the attack a “tragic mistake,” and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley emphasized: Although there was appropriate authority on the ground and a reasonable belief that the target was legitimate, detailed post-attack analysis concluded that innocent civilians had been killed. ”

Similarly, NATO member states have also inadvertently or mistakenly killed civilians, as in 2011 in Libya, when 13 people, including emergency workers, were killed in a so-called “mutual attack.”

In the case of World Central Kitchen, Israel immediately acknowledged its grave error and met with the Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff, General Helj Halevi. Says: “I would like to be clear that the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers. It was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant similarly issued immediate apologies and took full responsibility for the mistake. An urgent investigation is already underway to understand what went wrong and learn the appropriate lessons. That’s how a moral army works in a democracy.

As White House Press Secretary John Kirby emphasized in a press briefing this week, “They [the U.S. State Department] No cases have been found in which Israelis have violated international humanitarian law. ”

Also, between mistakes made during combat, such as the Israeli attack on World Central Kitchen staff, and Hamas’ intentional targeting of civilians, which is actually a war crime and a serious violation of international law. It is also important to recognize that there are significant differences between Humanitarian law.

The fact is that for Israel every innocent death is a tragedy, but for Hamas it is a strategy in itself. And the West’s inability to make this distinction only emboldens Hamas and perpetuates the violence.

Of course, this does not exempt Israel from its obligation to comply with the rules of war and international humanitarian law. Not only does it continue to do so, it exceeds these requirements in many documented ways.

The ultimate legal and moral responsibility for every innocent life lost lies at the feet of Hamas terrorists. If the international community truly wants to avoid future tragedies and loss of civilian life, it would be wise to call on Hamas to surrender immediately and release all hostages.

Arsen OstrovskyHuman Rights Lawyer, CEO of International Law Forum.

John Spencer is Chair of Urban Warfare Research at the Modern Warfare Institute (MWI) at West Point and Co-Director of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project. ”Urban Warfare Project Podcast. ”

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.