Palestinians told to evacuate northern Gaza as Israel steps up airstrikes
After a unilateral ceasefire failed Tuesday, Israel signaled an escalation of a bombing campaign aimed at Hamas. The legality of targeting houses of militants is hotly debated.
After a unilateral ceasefire failed Tuesday, Israel signaled an escalation of a bombing campaign aimed at Hamas. The legality of targeting houses of militants is hotly debated.
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Israel blanketed parts of Gaza with leaflets today that warned civilians to evacuate ahead of another round of airstrikes, reinvigorating debate on the legality of targeting locations in the crowded coastal territory.
The leaflet drop happened less than 24 hours after the unraveling of Israel's unilateral agreement to a cease-fire with Hamas.聽Militants have continued to fire rockets from Gaza into Israel. 聽
The Israeli leaflets, dropped in northern Gaza, warned residents to remain south of the town of Jabalya. They read,聽鈥淭he IDF does not want to harm you" and warned that those who don't evacuate 鈥渆ndanger their own lives," The Los Angeles Times reports. About 100,000 Palestinians live in the area.
The notification came after the Israeli security cabinet approved an escalation in Gaza and a limited ground operation, if needed. This morning Israel bombed areas in the northern Gaza Strip that it said contained underground rocket launchers, according to the Times.聽
Whether such notification efforts absolve Israel of responsibility for civilian deaths that occur in airstrikes is contested. BBC Middle East correspondent Kevin Connolly notes, "Israel says its warnings are to avoid civilian casualties in planned raids but they'll spread further fear, anger and uncertainty in Gaza where civilians will feel there are no real places of safety now."
海角大神 explored the debate Tuesday:
The most controversial aspect of the strikes, though, is the question of what constitutes a military target in a tiny territory like Gaza. Israel considers the homes of Hamas officials "command and control" centers. These two statements in the Monitor story highlight the two sides of the debate:
International law is explicit, but what Israel considers a control center is not, as the Monitor explains.
Israel does not disclose the evidence it uses to determine whether a house is a "command and control" center.
The possibility of an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza looms, which could result in much higher casualties in the nine-day conflict.聽
"The direction now is to continue air strikes and, if need be, enter with ground forces in a tactical, measured manner," an Israeli official told Reuters after the security cabinet meeting.聽
Because of the imprecision of Hamas rockets and Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, Israel has suffered only one fatality so far, while there have been at least 200 Palestinian deaths.聽