Re “Israel readies Gaza invasion as Hamas rockets zero in” (Page A1, Nov. 17): On the front page of Saturday’s Globe were side-by-side photos giving equal treatment to the grim realities of civilian death during the latest conflict between Israel and Gaza. Buried later in the story were grimmer — and unequal — realities.
We learn that the last such outbreak, four years ago, “left 13 Israelis and more than 1,000 Palestinians dead,” and that in the current operation “Israel is highly motivated to avoid a repeat” of the earlier Palestinian death toll. As of Friday night, “30 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli airstrikes” and three Israelis had “been killed by the rocket fire coming out of Gaza.”
Comments
Body counts are never applauded or measured as a standard of winning, to my knowledge, by civilized people defending themselves from an aggressor. However, defending and protecting one's right to exist is as basic as life itself. Casualties are a sorrowful part of that defense and protection.
What is unclear from this letter is that IDF and the Israeli government have had over 60 years of practice protecting its citizens from terrorist attacks and treating those who are injured by it. It has also used its resources, both human and financial, to continue refining weaponry and defense technology. Why should it be condemned because it has worked hard to minimize disruption and loss from enemy bombs? Hamas has not worked as hard for the protection of their citizens. Still, I guess it's much better propaganda to talk about big, bad Israel killing innocents than to acknowledge reality.
yet ANOTHER clueless Israel hater, who can't be bothered to look into the history of Israel and the Palestinians since 1948. Who stared the 1967 war, the 1973 war? Who murdered 11 Israel athletes at Mucich in 1972? And who cheered and fired guns in CELEBRATION when America was attacked on 9/1/2001? The Palestinians, who also cheered when Hezbolla fired rockets at israel, and when Sadaam fired Scuds. ALL at Israeli civilians. Back in the 197o's Palestinians had JOBS in Israel. Then they sent SUICIDE BOMBERS. The Palestinans killed their Golden Goose.