Israeli Tank Shells Hit Hospital

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28399292

I know we have debated the Israeli/Palestinian situation many times before, and there I appreciate that there is wrong on both sides but how can the Israelis justify targeting a Hospital ? 5 dead and 70 injured.

[tonyav]

Using an hospital to fire on the Israelis is just wrong imo.

[Sqad]

Zeuhl.......in a war zone, there is no time for a cup of coffee with the enemy and the local inhabitants as to how "ruthless" one should be, if you are coming under fire from ANY source, then they must be "taken out."

Not nice.....but war isn't.

[ChillDoubt]

Incorrect mikey, I think it right and proper to RETURN fire to wherever the attack came from.

[DrFilth]

Sqad i will tell you one thing if there is no rocket/rifle etc at the hospital now there will be a few lying around after the idf haven been

[Sqad]

Flithy...;-)......maybe!.....maybe!

[mikey4444]

Sqad...I think it highly unlikely that the Israelis were unaware that it was a Hospital. In fact, impossible. I doubt that there is anything that is going on in Gaza today that the Israeli Government is unaware of. They have been flying drones over the territory for some considerable time, and there shouldn't be any room for uncertainty. And America should get off the fence and condemn both sides. The Israelis are about as pigheaded as it is possible to be but America appears to be the only voice that they listen to.

Auschwitz-Birkenau was a long time ago and its about time that Israel realised it.

[Zeuhl]

/I think it right and proper to RETURN fire to wherever the attack came from./

even if it is from a gunman hiding in a group of children?

Really?

is that British Army Rules of Engagement?

/if you are coming under fire from ANY source, then they must be "taken out." /

So withdrawal and seeking another approach is not an option then?

The 'kiddies get it'!

In that case, the Israeli excuse for the invasion is a lie

'stopping Hamas attacks on Israel'

This ruthless 'slapping down' is clearly designed to incubate further Palestinian desperation and hatred of Israel up to the point where Palestinian attacks - feeble though they are - could justify full ethnic cleansing of Gaza which is obviously the long term Israeli objective

[Sqad]

Zeuhl....yes....the "kiddies get it"

Remember Vietnam where the VietCong sent children loaded with explosive devices ran to the Americans....human booby traps?

Above us the waves:

A German U-Boat underneath a crowd of British torpedoed sailors, waving to be saved, but one option for the captain of the destroyer was to "depth charge" in the centre of them.

Decisions have to be made in the time of war...........difficult decisions.

[anneasquith]

I don't think Israel can stoop any lower, and hopefully the international community withdraw their support and openly and harshly condemn Israel for their actions.

[tonyav]

Should the international community do the same with Hamas though anne, for using an hospital to fire on the Israelis ?.

[Zeuhl]

Agreed sqad

but those two examples don't quite equate with the 'gunman hiding behind civilians' scenario

the first is a case of using children as weapons

the second is a case of the military sacrificing their own non civilians in the interests of the overall fight

[Sqad]

Zeuhl ....agreed, but the absence of morality in the equation is exactly the same in all instances.

[Zeuhl]

I seem to recall the Provos weren't shy of using civilian demonstrators as human shields for sniping.

However, with one notable exception, I don't recall British troops mowing down many civilians.

[Zeuhl]

/the absence of morality in the equation/

isn't that the whole point of Rules of Engagement and 'Surgical Targeting'

[anneasquith]

yes tony................but im not aware America are funding Israel.

[Zeuhl]

^^

anne

//Over the last 20 years, the U.S. has been slowly phasing out economic aid to Israel and gradually replacing it with increased military aid. In 2007, the Bush Administration and the Israeli government agreed to a 10-year, $30 billion military aid package FY 2009 to FY 2018. In 2012, the U.S. began giving Israel $3.1 billion a year (or an average of $8.5 million a day) and promised to provide that amount every year through FY 2018

the Obama Administration gave $3.1 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Israel for the Fiscal Year 2014. In addition, the U.S contributed $504 million to the joint U.S.-Israel Missile Defense Program during FY 2014. If we include that number, American taxpayers give Israel $9.9 million per day.//

[DrFilth]

anneasquith watch this and you might change your mind about how they help each other

[seadogg]

We tend to forget that the State of Israel has survived only because of its total ruthlessness. While not condoning lobbing shells at a hospital we must understand the philosophy of a country surrounded by implacable enemies who do not recognise its right to exist.

[Zeuhl]

That's true seadogg

indeed Israel was born out of ruthlessness when armed immigrants from war-torn europe descended on the territory and set about grabbing land and driving out the people already living there.

Hardly surprising they are 'surrounded by implacable enemies'

[naomi24]

^Sounds about right.