> No country can be expected to abandon that number of hostages to the fate of an enemy that has already shown itself ready to kill

Sounds like a double standard. Why can Israel detain thousands of Palestinians indefinitely, without trial, in violation of international law?

As the saying goes, "A rose by any other name..."

I assure you, if you have the patience, reading this post by Timothy Gowers is worth it, assuming your mind is open.

The rapidity of your response to my submission suggests you have not given the post the attention I feel it deserves.

Please try.

I am sorry for clicking away once I read "Why I do not want to talk (much) about genocide." in the table of contents. I have no interest in reading a re-hash of the Israeli media's censored accounting of things, I'm firmly in the international camp of demanding secular accountability.

My question stands; why can one side violate humanitarian law, but the other cannot? Neither you nor the author can justify it.

RE....." To what extent is the war in Gaza justified "

Hamas has stated they want to kill all in Israel.

Never see discussion of Hamas hiding in/under hospitals schools etc Hamas sacrificing Gaza people as these assets are attacked - since their military used makes them valid military targets according to laws warfare.

Never see it mentioned how many deceased Hamas fighters are included in Gaza death toll from Gaza Health Ministry. Estimated to be 25,000

BOTH sides would be putting out propaganda.

Just Saying - Media reporters on both sides ( even ones on the ground there ) would not be aware of technology capabilities used to track opposing fighters. These technology capabilities would not be released , although they are sometimes hinted at....

> Media reporters on both sides ( even ones on the ground there ) would not be aware of technology capabilities used to track opposing fighters.

What do you mean by this? Embedded press communicates directly to both sides when and where they are located.

These atrocities don't go unnoticed, and many people are in agreement that civilian safety is paramount. The IDF has deliberately neglected their duty to protect civilian populations in obvious, disproportionate and politically-motivated reparations. Israel will not release their illegal hostages or cede their illegally annexed land. They will not offer up their war criminals for trial, nor guarantee safety to non-state media. The IDF's obstinate denial of fair accounting in the war has unintentionally obstructed Hamas from being held accountable on the global stage (something the world desperately wants, considering the state of Yemen). Now Israel needs to choose between international credibility or enacting unlimited vengeance.

I think Netanyahu's opposition Ben Gvir puts it well, despite our differences - if Israel cannot decide what it wants, perhaps it's better to tear down the government and start anew.

RE :... nor guarantee safety to non-state media....." Local Gaza people acting as media would need to be partially careful. Such people would have their location tracked , their associates tracked ......

RE "..... would not be aware of technology capabilities used to track opposing fighters...." There would be techniques used to determine location of Hamas fighters , therefore making that location a military target.

Techniques like the Dahiya doctrine, which identify civilian infrastructure to destroy to punish Gazan civilians? Or techniques like the Hannibal directive, where the IDF arbitrarily calls their own soldiers Hamas fighters so they can kill them with impunity too?

You really have to be more specific. Israel has a lot of techniques used to justify killing known non-combatants, civilians or even engaging in fratricide.

Dahiya doctrine, as you described it, is a myth that has no confirmation for existence.

Hannibal directive the way you describe it, doesn't exist as well. Even looking at wiki page will confirm it: "it is clearly stated that, in case of an attempted abduction, soldiers should fire at the abductors "while avoiding hitting the captive"

Hamas uses Gaza civilians as human shields

There are so many things that are wrong with this sentence.

It's such a low effort reply that doesn't offer any proof or arguments to back it up.

It isn't true and it's actually documented that it's the IDF that used palestinians as human shields to protect themselves. (https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-arm...)

Even if were true, this doesn't justify the killing of civilians. You wouldn't blow up an entire building if there was a single terrorist in there. But, if I'm not mistaken, the IDF has quite a high number of acceptable collateral casualties, in the 100s, for a single valid target. So they're purposefully attacking civilians or attacking without any care for them.

Hamas booby traps would be killing Gaza people even without the Israel solders around.

How do you know how many terrorists are there ? or why they target a building?

Yet another claim without anything to back it up. I at least try to provide a relevant link when I state something. Which booby traps are you talking about? If they do exist, do you have any proof that they have killed civilians in Gaza?

What is this question about the number of terrorists and the targeting of buildings? It's well documented that the IDF lies about their targets, like the time they killed medics, burried them and their vehicle and claimed theywere approaching dangerously, but then when video proof showed they were lying they said it was a mistake.

Relevant links:

- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/5/unprecedented-video-... - https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/

How do you know these links are truthful ? The reality is you ( and I ) do not. In my opinion BOTH sides would be doing these bad things.

RE

'...time they killed the medics ...."

Id observe ...Lots mistakes made in war / fighting. Also Consider friendly fire killing their own solders situations.

Google of the phrase "...lots mistakes are made n war..." gives numerous mistakes made in past warfare.