Many of the victims were internationals, including 27 Americans killed and 14 unaccounted for. Those unaccounted for are likely hostages in Gaza. This abhorrent terrorism shocked the world. Hundreds of photos and videos, including of murdered and burned babies, are blindingly horrific. They can inspire support for any and all forms of retaliation, including against innocent civilians in Gaza.
There’s a temptation to support Israel’s strategy of severing access to water, fuel, and electricity to 2 million Gazans to leverage the return of as many as 150 hostages. But, people need water to survive. The strategy puts at risk over 13,000 Gazans for every hostage held. Hamas could save everybody, Gazans and hostages alike, simply by releasing the hostages. But, 13,000:1 is hardly proportional. There are rules in war, and proportionality is one of them.
The deaths of that many innocent civilians in Gaza would hurt the cause. It would be used as propaganda against not only Israel but also Israel’s supporters, including most prominently the United States.
Retaliation against civilian targets is what Russia does in Ukraine, and China does to its own people in the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet. We call that genocide. Democracies care more about people because democracies are of the people. Dictators care less, as stepping on a stairway of necks is how they climbed to power.
Democracies retain the moral high ground only by holding their punches when it comes to civilians. I heard this frequently in Afghanistan, where I worked for the U.S. Army as a civilian socio-cultural analyst. Our commanders insisted that when civilians might be in danger, stop firing. Even after 9/11, in which terrorists killed almost 3,000 innocent American civilians in cold blood, American military leaders had the moral fortitude to hold fire when it came to Afghan civilians.
This humanitarianism is the key to American success and power internationally. It’s why countries around the world, including Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, trust the U.S. military and host U.S. military bases. We have proven time and again that though powerful, we aren’t occupiers, we respect human rights and the sovereignty of states, and we’re the protectors of innocent civilians, not the killers.
Civilian casualties in war are sometimes unavoidable. But, the level should always be minimized and proportional to the military objectives attained, according to international law. This is for humanitarian as well as strategic purposes. Nobody likes a butcher, and winning wars requires the support of the people.
Yet, all of America’s Muslim partners are watching closely to see the U.S. reaction to the Hamas attack, and how we manage Israel’s retaliation. Our enemies in Iran, Russia, and China are certainly hoping that we fumble. So, for moral and strategic reasons, we shouldn’t stoop to the terrorists’ level of killing the innocent.
But, he also made clear that Israel should avoid civilian casualties. His three priorities included the return of innocent U.S. hostages, support for a humanitarian corridor out of Gaza to Egypt, and management of Israel’s response to the attack.
Mr. Blinken said he spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, about the need to take “every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.” He said that democracies distinguish themselves from terrorists by respecting civilian life, and that Hamas doesn’t represent the Palestinian people. “As the Prime Minister and I discussed, how Israel does this matters,” he said.
For once, the Biden administration was pitch perfect. Protect the innocent. Period.
