IT WOULD BE LIKE ELIMINATING dEMOCRATS TO WIN THE CIVIL WAR:

Under foundational principles of international law and the United Nations Charter, Israel is fully justified in taking necessary steps to exercise its right to self-defense against Hamas. Unlike its opponents, Israel has rightly stated that it is bound to follow international humanitarian law (IHL), or the law of armed conflict. Drawn from sources including the Geneva Conventions, the fundamental principles of IHL--humanity, distinction, proportionality, and military necessity--operate to minimize civilian casualties and needless destruction. Though critical for Israel's ground operation, these principles will prove extraordinarily difficult to realize for two main reasons: Gaza's highly urban environment and Hamas's leveraging of the Palestinian civilian population as human shields.

The principles of distinction, proportionality, and military necessity can be briefly summed up as the obligation to attack combatants, and only combatants, in a way that balances military advantages against collateral consequences, and for purposes essential to legitimate military goals. Gaza's density makes collateral civilian casualties inevitable, even with the use of precision weapons. Israel has ordered Gazans to evacuate, but not everyone will be willing or able to leave their homes, especially as other Arab nations have been unwilling to accept Gazan refugees.

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