Amid widespread accusations of targeting civilians, the IDF employs rigorous strategies to minimize harm, including advanced warnings, precision strikes, and humanitarian aid, highlighting its commitment to protecting innocent lives in war zones.
The Misconception
It is often reported in mainstream and state-controlled media, as well as in international forums, that Israel deliberately targets civilians and might even be committing genocide against the population of Gaza. These accusations are not only baseless but are also easily debunked by the following data, numbers, and facts from the War in Israel (www.warinisrael.org) database, an IDSF project.
Warnings
Before launching any strikes on cities, refugee camps, or other territories, the IDF takes extensive measures to warn civilians in the Gaza Strip. These measures include distributing evacuation maps, dropping leaflets, sending SMS messages, making automated calls, and even conducting live phone calls. Since the war began, the IDF has dropped over 9.3 million pamphlets, sent over 1.55 million SMS messages, made more than 17 million automated calls, and conducted over 100,000 live phone calls—all aimed at ensuring that non-combatants can move to safety.
It is important to note that the primary responsibility for evacuating civilians from combat zones lies with Hamas, the governing body in the Gaza Strip. However, Hamas often neglects this duty and even forces civilians to remain in harm's way, which may itself constitute a war crime.
Humanitarian Aid and Cooperation
Critics of Israel have claimed that Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza by imposing strict blockades that severely restrict the flow of food, medicine, and other essential supplies. They argue that these measures exacerbated the humanitarian crisis, leading to widespread suffering and malnutrition among the civilian population in Gaza. The truth is the exact opposite.
The IDF works closely with NGOs and international governments to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Since the onset of the conflict, Israel and its partners have transported over 900,000 metric tons of supplies by land, air, and sea. This includes 727,000 metric tons of food, 73,000 metric tons of shelter equipment, 49,000 metric tons of water, 25,000 metric tons of medical supplies, and an additional 36,000 metric tons of other essentials.
For example, the IDF has provided Shifa Hospital with medical equipment, incubators, and baby food, and in February, delivered over 20 oxygen tanks and additional medical supplies to Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis.
Targeted Strikes
The Israeli Air Force was a pioneer in integrating computers into bombers, drastically improving the precision of airstrikes. By the 1990s, these computers became small enough to be installed directly into bombs, leading to the development of precision-guided munitions (PGMs). The IDF has increasingly adopted this technology, particularly since the mid-1990s, to minimize collateral damage. For instance, during the First Gulf War in 1991, the U.S. used smart weapons in just 8% of strikes, but by later conflicts like "Operation Cast Lead," nearly 100% of the munitions used were smart bombs.
In the current war, Israel has not only employed smart bombs to target militants embedded within civilian populations—a Hamas war crime in itself—but has also integrated new technologies to enhance the accuracy of ground troops and artillery. One such innovation is the "Dagger" sight by Smart Shooter, which uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to ensure that every shot is precise, effectively turning each soldier into a sniper and significantly reducing the risk of hitting unintended targets.
Another game-changing technology is the Iron Sting mortar, developed by Elbit. Unlike conventional mortars, which are generally imprecise, the Iron Sting is accurate to within meters. It relies on inputted coordinates rather than electro-optical imaging, significantly reducing collateral damage and the likelihood of civilian casualties.
Throughout the war, there were several well-known instances where Israel targeted terrorists in schools, with international media echoing Hamas propaganda by claiming that Israel killed many civilians during these strikes. For example, on August 10th, Israel targeted terrorists at al-Tabin School. The Guardian reported: “At least 80 people have been killed in Israeli missile strikes on a school compound in Gaza City, according to the territory’s civil defense service.” In reality, the IDF targeted 20 terrorists, causing minimal damage to the school, and provided evidence demonstrating that the inflated number of casualties was highly unlikely. The IDF even posted the names and photos of those killed in the attack.
The Tabeen School strike is just one example of numerous propaganda attempts by Hamas and their allies to tarnish Israel’s image and further their strategy of maximizing civilian casualties to pressure Israel on the world stage.
A comparative perspective
These practices have enabled the IDF to achieve remarkable success on the battlefield while minimizing civilian casualties. The IDF reports that it has eliminated over 14,300 terrorists. Even if we accept the inflated figures from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which are based on numbers provided by Hamas, the civilian death toll would be around 24,000. This results in a ratio of approximately 1.5 civilians killed for every one combatant. In comparison, the Soviet-Afghan War had a ratio of 10 to 1, and the Biafran War had a ratio of 15 to 1.
When we consider the total civilian death toll, which stands at around 26,000 (including Israeli civilians), this conflict is far less deadly for civilians than other recent wars. For example, the war in Yemen has resulted in over 367,000 civilian deaths, the Syrian Civil War has claimed over 617,000 lives and the Liberian Civil War left more than 200,000 civilians dead.
The IDF's efforts to avoid civilian casualties stand in stark contrast to these conflicts, demonstrating a commitment to minimizing harm even in the midst of intense warfare.
To get additional data and numbers, debunk myths, read analysis and watch informative content on the wars Israel is fighting, visit warinisrael.org
This article was originally published on Ynet
Comments