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Honestreporting.com
The media has, so far, reported Palestinian casualty figures provided by Hamas controlled sources such as the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza. Hamas operatives have dressed in civilian clothing and hidden behind Palestinian civilians. Hamas has prevented details of its casualties to prevent a total collapse of morale within the organization and the international media has acquiesced by failing to acknowledge that a significant number of Hamas terrorists have died during Israel's offensive
Now, if further proof were needed as to the reliability of Hamas's figures, it has arrived as
Hamas claims that it has lost only 48 of its operatives in 22 days, the rest of the Palestinian casualties made up of civilians. This claim is so absurd and laughable, how can anyone take this or anything that Hamas says seriously?
TAKING ON WHITE PHOSPHORUS ALLEGATIONS
Writing in The Jerusalem Post,
Gerald Steinberg admonishes Human Rights Watch for its white phosphorus allegations against Israel:
HRW's "evidence" was based entirely on innuendo and unverifiable "eyewitness" reports. One report states that "[o]n January 9, Human Rights Watch researchers on a ridge overlooking Gaza from the northwest observed multiple air-bursts of artillery-fired WP that appeared to be over the Gaza City/Jabalya area. In addition, Human Rights Watch has analyzed photographs taken by the media on the Israel-Gaza border." HRW does not name its researchers; it does not provide a detailed location of its observation, nor does it identify the photos it "analyzed" making independent verification of this "evidence" impossible.
Indeed, two days later, the International Committee of the Red Cross, which certainly cannot be accused of a pro-Israeli bias, issued a statement that backed the IDF statements. "Using phosphorus to illuminate a target or create smoke is legitimate under international law," it said, adding that there was no evidence that Israel was "using phosphorus in a questionable way, such as burning down buildings or consciously putting civilians at risk." (Flares assist search and rescue forces in saving the lives of wounded soldiers and preventing Hamas from snatching the bodies of dead soldiers. To claim that such operations are illegitimate is, in and of itself, immoral.)
Read the full
op-ed here.
