PALESTINIAN CIVILIAN CASUALTIES have become the issue in the Israel-Hamas war, precipitating worldwide condemnation of Israel. "A staggering and unacceptable number of civilian casualties," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said. "Far too many" Palestinians have been killed, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. President Joe Biden summed up the dilemma on December 12, saying that while Israel has had European support in addition to U.S. backing, "they're starting to lose the support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place."
The high number of Palestinian deaths has provoked accusations of Israeli war crimes and even genocide, on the premise that civilians are being intentionally targeted. Government officials from around the world and media outlets have sustained the impression that Israel is attacking hospitals, schools, refugee camps and humanitarian facilities, all seemingly with a disregard for civilian life. If Israel were attacking indiscriminately or targeting civilians-it's not that would indeed constitute a war crime.
Calculating the acceptability of taking any human life creates the weightiest of moral dilemmas, and the images of suffering in Gaza have prompted demands by many for a ceasefire. But armies must always weigh the cost of civilian lives against any perceived military advantage according to the laws of war.
To try to answer the question of whether so many civilian deaths and injuries are indeed too many according to legal definitions of proportionality -Newsweek spoke to over a dozen active and retired Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and U.S. military and intelligence officers, all of whom were able to speak more candidly because they were granted anonymity, often in criticizing the conduct of the war. Newsweek also spoke to a number of prominent human rights experts and has reviewed Israeli and American classified data relating to the conflict.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Zachary Quinto
ZACHARY QUINTO HAS PLAYED DOCTORS BEFORE, BUT HE'S \"NEVER PLAYED a doctor like\" the one he plays on NBC's Brilliant Minds (September 23).
Adam Brody
NETFLIX KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT MILLENNIALS want, and it's to see Adam Brody and Kristen Bell fall in love.
Partners in Crime
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt shares his delight at teaming up with Shailene Woodley again in new Amazon Prime movie Killer Heat
HOW TO FIND A WORKPLACE THAT LOVES YOU BACK
Insights from America's Top Most Loved Workplaces
MOST LOVED WORKPLACES 2024
AT A TIME WHEN WORKERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES CONTINUE TO redefine what they expect from their jobs, the companies on Newsweek's annual list of the Most Loved Workplaces in America are setting the standard for what a fulfilling workplace looks like.
Q&A LEE YARON
With 10/7, the professional became profoundly personal.
SDEROT INTERSECTION
How Jewish and Arab strangers united to rescue two little girls amidst Hamas' October 7 attack
No End in Sight
AS TENSIONS CONTINUE TO FLARE AT ISRAEL'S BORDERS, NEWSWEEK DISCOVERS HOW LIFE HAS CHANGED IN THE REGION A YEAR ON FROM THE OCTOBER 7 HAMAS ATTACKS
Thai Scammers Set Sights on US
Newsweek looks inside the Southeast Asian country's $2 billion cybercrime industry and how American citizens are now falling prey to sophisticated schemes run overseas
PARTING SHOT: Sarah Paulson
\"CAN YOU IMAGINE IF THE AIR WAS JUST FILLED WITH DUST PARTICLES and you literally could not breathe?\" That's what Sarah Paulson is tackling in her new film Hold Your Breath (October 3).