Israelis: 673 of 1134 Dead in Gaza were Terrorists
An Israeli report published today in Haaretz tallies 673 combatants among the 1134 Gazans killed in the Israeli Cast Lead operation. 288 are identified as civilians. The remainder, some 173 are not specified. Of the dead who are identified, 70 percent were combatants and 30 percent were civilians.
CAMERA’s own analysis based on the data of PCHR, a leading Palestinian source, showed that at least 75 percent of those killed were males of fighting age (15-50 years old). Assuming a rate of civilian deaths among 15-50 year old males proportional to their share of the population, the data from the CAMERA analysis calculates a ratio of combatants to civilians similar to the Israeli report.
Several questions remain unanswered. Of the 30 percent of the dead who were civilians, how many were killed by Hamas ordinance? Are the Fatah loyalists killed by Hamas during the operation included in civilian figures?
Despite the international outcry and accusations of Israeli war crimes, it appears that the Israelis took considerable measures to target combatants. This is especially evident in light of Hamas’s use of children as human shields, its penchant for launching rockets and mortars from civilian areas and reports of fighters commandeering civilian residences to fire upon Israeli troops.
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