2y ago

EU condemns Hamas for using 'hospitals as human shields', urges Israeli restraint

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2y ago

EU condemns Hamas for using 'hospitals as human shields', urges Israeli restraint

www.reuters.com /world/middle-east/eu-condemns-hamas-using-hospitals-human-shields-urges-israeli-restraint-2023-11-12/

World News @lemmy.world

bboplifa @lemmy.world

2y ago

EU condemns Hamas for using 'hospitals as human shields', urges Israeli restraint

www.reuters.com /world/middle-east/eu-condemns-hamas-using-hospitals-human-shields-urges-israeli-restraint-2023-11-12/

52 comments

Is there actually any proof that Hamas has used hospitals? The Al-shifa hospital staff has denied this in every interview and no reporter has shown proof of it being real.
- Yeah there's videos of Hamas guys shooting from hospitals. Including a rocket launcher (which probably killed someone with the back last)! Monsters
- The IOF says so, which means it will be accepted uncritically
- There were the photographs that showed a crater in the hospital parking lot made by a rocket rather than a jdam. But I don't think we know if it was from a rocket launch, or an accidental landing after a failure.
  
  Rockets are portable. Even if a rocket was launched from a parking space it’s not evidence that the hospital is a hamas base like the government claimed. That is not sufficient evidence even if it was true and may be a war crime to blow up the hospital as a result.
Good, as it should be. Hamas shouldn't be using them, but Israel also definitely shouldn't be bombing them.
- What should it do then? Just watch as Hamas launches rockets at their citizens from hospitals and schools?
  
  The ideal solution would be to see why there's fighting in the first place and work on that (hint: It's the Israeli occupation of Palestine. And yes, that includes Gaza, as much as Israel would like you to believe otherwise).
  
  No, ideally it'd shoot down the rockets. Or potentially they might need to send in soldiers who would be able to adequately discriminate between civilians and militants. That would cause more Israeli casualties, but likely less casualties overall than less discriminate bombing.
Human Rights Watch found no evidence that the civilian victims were used by Palestinian fighters as human shields or were shot in the crossfire between opposing forces. Source
Unless they’ve changed tactics, Israel is lying.
- Nice selective context there, removing the first part of the sentence:
  In the killings documented in this report, Human Rights Watch found no evidence that the victims were used by Palestinian fighters as human shields or were shot in the crossfire between opposing forces.
  So according to the HRW investigation of 11 killings in 2008-2009 the killings weren't justified by the claims of human shields.
  And yet you have things like the UN in 2014 condemning the placement of rockets on site in one of its schools in the region for the second time:
  https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-condemns-placement-rockets-second-time-one-its-schools
  So maybe you mischaracterizing the HRW conclusion and actively ignoring other evidence in the process is the real lying here?
  Edit: Also, just for source consistency, we have this 2012 report from HRW:
  Human Rights Watch research in Gaza found that armed groups repeatedly fired rockets from densely populated areas, near homes, businesses, and a hotel, unnecessarily placing civilians in the vicinity at grave risk from Israeli counter-fire.
  Source
  
  Are you accusing Human Rights Watch of lying? Because that’s who I quoted. Amnesty International also found no evidence to corroborate the accusations of “human shields.” In the paragraph below from this source.
  Placement of rockets does not qualify as a human shield, per Amnesty International. And while we’re ignoring other evidence, should we consider Israel’s use of “human shields”.
  I like this game. I have the truth on my side, so I will always win.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
BRUSSELS, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The European Union on Sunday condemned Hamas for using "hospitals and civilians as human shields" in Gaza, while also urging Israel to show "maximum restraint" to protect civilians.
Hospitals in the north of the Palestinian enclave are blockaded by Israeli forces and barely able to care for those inside, according to medical staff.
"The EU condemns the use of hospitals and civilians as human shields by Hamas," European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement issued on behalf of the 27-nation bloc.
At the same time, he urged Israel to exercise maximum restraint, stressing the obligation under international humanitarian law to protect hospitals, medical supplies and civilians inside hospitals.
"These hostilities are severely impacting hospitals and taking a horrific toll on civilians and medical staff," Borrell warned.
"In this context, we urge Israel to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the protection of civilians."
The original article contains 245 words, the summary contains 151 words. Saved 38%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

52 comments