For readers who are still unconvinced that at least some Gaza civilians are actually choosing to be human shields, and choosing that fate for their women and children, wonder no more.
Following is a conversation in Arabic (English subtitles) between an IDF officer, Ramy, and Gaza civilian “Abu Younes,” who was unwilling to evacuate to the nearby humanitarian safe zone regardless of the risk to his family.
Chilling convo between an IDF officer and a Gaza resident.
IDF Officer: You need to evacuate for your own safety
Gazan: “We want to die”
IDF officer: “You need to to leave, the blast radius will be immense and it will effect you”
Gazan: “We aren’t leaving, Ki*ll the… pic.twitter.com/mNX98SoU0a
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 6, 2024
“IDF Officer: The blast radius will be immense and it will put your life at risk. You need to evacuate the building with your family and move away half a kilometer. Alright? Everyone, including the elderly and children. The blast radius will be immense.
Abu Younes: My dear, I am unable to evacuate everyone. I’ll need a minimum of two hours before I can evacuate them all.
IDF Officers: My brother, we will proceed with the strike regardless of whether you leave or not.
Abu Younes: Strike us then, do as you please. Do whatever you want.
IDF Officer: We must do everything within our means to prevent any fatalities.
Abu Younes: We want to die.
IDF Officer: You are responsible for ensuring the safety of the children.
Abu Younes: And our children also must die.”
Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority governments have carefully nurtured a death cult mentality in their populations over several generations, brainwashing their people from the cradle to the grave to believe that death is preferable to life in the fight to destroy Israel.
The programming is carried out via children’s television programs, community events honoring deceased bloodthirsty terrorists who have murdered Israelis, school textbooks (ie: If you have 10 Jews and you kill three, how many must still be killed?), in statements by government officials and interviews in newspapers and other local media.
Despite all of the above, the Israel Defense Forces have managed to maintain the civilian casualty ratio at fewer than one civilian death per combatant death — an unheard of accomplishment in modern warfare, according to multiple military analysts.
The average civilian casualty ratio in modern warfare is around 9:1 – that is, nine civilians killed for every combatant.
In the current Israel-Hamas war, the IDF has achieved
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the lowest combatant-civilian casualty ratio in modern history, according to John Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Warfare Institute of West Point.
Israel has done more to prevent civilian casualties in war than any military in history — above & beyond what international law requires & more than the US did in its wars in Iraq & Afghanistan — setting a standard that will be both hard & potentially problematic to repeat. ?
— John Spencer (@SpencerGuard) May 4, 2024
“Israel has done more to prevent civilian casualties in war than any military in history — above & beyond what international law requires & more than the US did in its wars in Iraq & Afghanistan — setting a standard that will be both hard & potentially problematic to repeat,” Spencer commented in a post on the X social media platform last weekend.
“The IDF 1 to 1.5 if not 1 to 1 combatant to civilian ratio (something uniquely focused on by the world and people how do not know the history of war or urban warfare) is better than any battles, past or modern, in urban warfare with even remotely similar context,” he wrote.
