GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 690

Something’s Fishy

Not What It Seems

It seems that just about all the media reports on the IDF strikes on the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis on Monday. Even Prime Minister Netanyahu is regretting the strikes. But there is more to this story than what is being reported. I start with an article about it from the Jewish News Syndicate:

Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement expressing its deep regret for the inadvertent killing of civilians in Gaza, including several journalists, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern part of the Strip on Monday.

Without distinguishing between Hamas terrorists and sympathetic operatives, Reuters simply said the overall numbers of casualties:

Reuters reported that at least 20 people were killed, including five journalists who worked for its outlet, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, among others.

Netanyahu offered these words of apology:

“Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff and all civilians. The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation,” the PMO said.

“Our war is with Hamas terrorists. Our just goals are defeating Hamas and bringing our hostages home,” it added.

Antisemitic mouthpieces are salivating over the news forgetting that Israel doesn’t target civilians:

Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said: “I would like to be clear from the start—the IDF does not intentionally target civilians.”

He acknowledged there was an airstrike near Nasser Hospital and that there were reports of civilian casualties, including journalists.

It’s an almost impossible environment to fight in especially when the standard for Israel is vastly higher than what it is for Hamas who takes advantage of every misstep the IDF makes:

Israel’s military is operating in an extremely complex reality, Defrin stated, in which Hamas terrorists deliberately use civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as cover. They have operated from the Nasser hospital itself.

They’ve Used It Before

If the name of the hospital sounds familiar it should because Hamas used it in the past:

In May, the IDF carried out a precision strike targeting Hamas terrorists inside the Nasser Hospital. According to the IDF, the hospital compound was being used as a command-and-control center for planning and executing attacks against Israeli civilians and military personnel.

Thankfully Defrin was quick to remind us who put civilians in harms way in the first place:

Defrin stated that Hamas bore ultimate responsibility for starting the war and prolonging it by continuing to hold hostages in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing that the IDF will do its duty to investigate the incident in line with international law. He said the chief of staff had ordered an immediate inquiry into the event.

He also rightfully added that no war zone is free from civilian casualties and that anyone working in one can get harmed especially when you station yourself where you clearly know the terrorists are working out of:

“Reporting from an active warzone carries immense risk, especially in a war with a terrorist organization such as Hamas, which cynically hides behind the civilian population. As always, we will present our findings as transparently as possible,” Defrin said.

“We regret any harm to uninvolved individuals, and are committed to continue fighting Hamas while taking all the necessary precautions,” he concluded.

So there were “journalists” in the hospital who had to know that Hamas was also in there. The question I have is were they also on the payroll of Hamas? Evidence supports they were at a minimum sympathetic from other social media accounts where they helped document the Hamas celebration of returning the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir. Also the reason for the strike was there was a spy camera on the roof and an observation post on the upper floor which the journalists were using to broadcast IDF movements. The IDF was given orders to use a drone to neutralize the area. For some reason they used ground forces and not air strikes. It should be noted that Hamas was prohibited from using the hospital as a base for working and when they did occupy it, the place became a military site and open for strikes (see Geneva Convention IV, Article 28 which prohibits using civilians to make areas immune from military operations.) Article 51(7) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I provides:

The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations. The Parties to the conflict shall not direct the movement of the civilian population or individual civilians in order to attempt to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield military operations.

Hamas has been doing this from day one of this war and no one calls them out for it. I know that more details will keep coming out on this so we need to not jump to any conclusions, but Hamas’ use of this hospital in the past and their use of it again should make us suspect any reports saying it was an innocent site and a humanitarian crime. If I’m right I will wait for the retractions. But I’m certainly not holding my breath for them.