Security

Israeli Army Now Less Careful About Civilian Deaths?

Are the Israel Defense Forces deliberately being less careful about civilian casualties than they were before? That’s the implication from this article by Amos Harel, a well-respected military correspondent for Ha’Aretz. The incident in which some 40 Palestinian civilians were killed when Israel Defense Forces mortar shells hit an UNRWA school in the Jabalya refugee […]

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Are the Israel Defense Forces deliberately being less careful about civilian casualties than they were before? That's the implication from this article by Amos Harel, a well-respected military correspondent for Ha'Aretz.

*The incident in which some 40 Palestinian civilians were killed when Israel Defense Forces mortar shells hit an UNRWA school in the Jabalya refugee camp Tuesday surprised no one who has been following events in Gaza in recent days. Senior officers admit that the IDF has been using enormous firepower. *

*"For us, being cautious means being aggressive," explained one. "From the minute we entered, we've acted like we're at war. That creates enormous damage on the ground ... I just hope those who have fled the area of Gaza City in which we are operating will describe the shock. Maybe someone there will sober up before it continues." *

During the Israel's 2006 war with Hezbollah, "reports circulated that growing concern over casualties caused IDF commanders to become overly cautious," a U.S. Army historian later observed. After the conflict, many in Jerusalem's leadership felt that Israel "had been too restrained, too careful about distinguishing between Hezbollah and the state of Lebanon," the* New York Times* notes. The perception was that Israeli soldiers were killed, as a result.

"Following the trauma of the war in Lebanon in 2006, the army realized that heavy IDF casualties would erode public (and especially political) support for the war and limit its ability to achieve its goals," Harel writes. "Therefore, it is using aggressive tactics to save soldiers' lives. And the cabinet took this into account when it approved the ground operation last Friday, so it has no reason to change its mind now."

This dovetails with another decision, made in the wake of 2006: keeping the press out of Gaza. Not only does it keep valuable information out of Hamas' hands, the logic goes. The media blackout also blunts some of the damage when a terror group sets up shop inside a school or hospital -- and then parades around civilians' bodies, when Israel hits the place.At least, that was the calculus, before today's deadly strike.

[Photo: Baz Ratner/Reuters]

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