CNN’s Wolf Blitzer seemed at a lost of words at the justification being used to bomb a refugee camp in Gaza.

  • V17@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    arrow-down
    40
    ·
    1 year ago

    That is actually how it works. It is not against international law to strike civilian areas if it cannot be avoided in order to attack military targets. It needs to be done in a manner appropriate to the situation, for which there is obviously no hard line defined. Assuming that Israel is not lying regarding the military target around/under the location of this strike (which they probably aren’t, because murdering civilians without reason hurts their interests), it is explicitly legal without any loopholes or weird interpretations.

    • dustyData@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      39
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      That is categorically not how it works. We had trials over this after WWII. The international law was delineated quite clearly. Intentionally targeting civilians to hit military targets is still a war crime. Even if enemy combatants are hiding among civilians to use them as human shields, even if you can prove that it is a standard practice of your enemy. It’s still a war crime. Israel is just so confident that the US will back them up all the way down to total genocide that they don’t even pretend they are trying to follow IHL anymore.

      • YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        9
        arrow-down
        9
        ·
        1 year ago

        Civilians should never be the target. The Israei government will be questioned for their actions, but I’ll be surprised if they are held responsible for them.

    • PugJesus@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      25
      ·
      1 year ago

      That is actually how it works. It is not against international law to strike civilian areas if it cannot be avoided in order to attack military targets.

      It is if the collateral damage is considered ‘excessive’ in comparison to the military benefits that would be gained if the strike was successful and in relation to the level of precision available.

      You know, like murdering 50 civilians in a refugee camp with a guided munition to kill an enemy officer.

      • Hyperreality@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        10
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Like murdering 8000 civilians in a coordinated ‘surgical’ strike in an operation the media would glowingly call Shock and Awe, and getting re-elected on the back of it.

        Or demolishing thousands of mosques, then signing trade deals with Muslim countries, as part of the Belt and Road initiative.

        Or forcibly conscripting Muslim men for the meatgrinder in Ukraine, previously leveling Chechnya, then inviting over Hamas for a visit where they praise your leadership.

        I wouldn’t get your hopes up too high. Once everyone’s bored of this war and distracted, and the man on the street in the Arab world is once again existentially preoccupied, it’s not unlikely Arab leaders will end their performative outrage and return to real politik, making money and throwing Palestinians under the bus.

        • PugJesus@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          8
          ·
          1 year ago

          I wouldn’t get your hopes up too high. Once everyone’s bored of this war and distracted, and the man on the street in the Arab world is once again existentially preoccupied, it’s not unlikely Arab leaders will end their performative outrage and return to real politik, making money and throwing Palestinians under the bus.

          Oh, don’t worry, my hopes weren’t that Arab leaders would hold Israel accountable. Only that some of us will remember this outrage.

          • Omniraptor@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            Our hopes should be that the body politic in both America and Israel (the two countries with power to stop it) wakes up and mobilizes to stop it. This is so much faster and more blatant than what america did post 9/11 that I believe (def biased but also seeing encouraging signs) that we can pull it off this time.