I’m not sure why Amnesty International would find it surprising that civilians died in large numbers when Israel is fighting a bunch of skulkers:
Amnesty International says attacks on civilian targets by Israeli military forces during the recently ended fighting in Lebanon look like deliberate war crimes.
In a report released on Wednesday, the London-based human rights organisation argues that the destruction of Lebanese homes and basic infrastructure “was an integral part of the military strategy”.
Noting violations by both sides, Amnesty says it has asked the United Nations to open a “comprehensive, independent and impartial inquiry” about the 34-day war between Israel and the Lebanese-based Hizbollah militia.
The losses inflicted by Israeli forces were not just “collateral damage” under the accepted rules of war, according to Amnesty.
More than 7,000 air force attacks and 2,500 naval bombardments “particularly concentrated on civilian areas”, the report says. Israeli officials, while acknowledging Lebanese civilian losses, have placed the blame on Hizbollah for allegedly hiding weapons among the population.
This I’ll never understand. If Hezbollah hides among civilians, the moral burden of the deaths is theirs. Capitulating to this kind of nonsense will mean more civilian deaths in future conflicts because it will reward the skulkers. What is AI thinking? (I’m not sure I want to know.)
