How Many People Died in Gaza?

Monday, July 28, 2014 |  Ryan Jones  ISRAEL TODAY

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The current lull in the Gaza war has given the mainstream media the opportunity to focus on images of widespread destruction and high death tolls, and to blame it all on Israel.

Unfortunately, in both cases , most reporters rely on information provided them by Hamas, of which any reasonable observer would be skeptical, at best.

While many people certainly have lost their lives in Gaza, without a bit of fact-checking and providing proper context, it can be all too easy to accuse Israel of perpetrating a massacre.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health claims that well over 1,000 people have been killed so far in the current war, and has been releasing a regularly updated list of names.

A thorough analysis of that list by Meir Amit Intelligence and Information Center concluded that a little less than one-third could be confidently classified as combatants, another third were definitely civilians, and the role of the last third could not be reasonably identified.

The problem is that Hamas purposely conceals whether or not the deceased were combatants, and so can make up any figure it wants when publicizing the percentage of civilians killed. Furthermore, a great many of those taking up arms again Israel do so in civilian garb, and so are counted among the civilian deaths.

Separate analyses by several Israeli bloggers noted that at least 75 percent of the names appearing on the Hamas-provided casualty list are males between the ages of 18–60 (men of fighting age), which is odd given that that demographic only makes up 20 percent of the overall Gaza population. The finding would suggest that Israel has been successful in its effort to avoid civilian deaths.

One of those bloggers dug just a little deeper and found that a great many names appearing on the casualty list were duplicates. Hamas has been inflating its casualty figures for the sake of Western media consumption, and reporters eager to stir heated emotions haven’t bothered to do even basic fact-checking.

And that brings us to the issue of demolished civilian buildings. Over the past few days, media outlets have hastened to report on the number of apartment buildings, family homes and public facilities flattened in the Israeli counter-offensive.

Again, this is typically done out of context, giving the impression that the Israeli army is arbitrarily bombarding civilian areas as a means of collective punishment.

The truth looks a little different.

Last week, we published a video provided by the IDF demonstrating why it decided to bomb a Gaza hospital that had been commandeered by Hamas, and showing that it only did so after confirming that no civilians remained in the building.

The following video reveals one of the reason that so many civilian homes have been targeted:

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Israel Today - "Get In Your Succah" - David Lazarus

Get In Your Succah

Monday, September 16, 2013 |  David Lazarus, Israel today  

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As I sit down to write this article on the eve of Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles, five more “urgent warnings” pop up in my inbox concerning the situation in Syria. With Obama and Putin now ratcheting up the rhetoric over the Mideast, some are even prophesying that World War 3, Armageddon and the final Messianic Kingdom are unfolding right here in front of our eyes on our flat screen television sets.

Must we really get so agitated by just another wave of turmoil around the Mideast? Maybe I've lived in Israel too long (37 years), but it seems to me that the reoccurring turbulence in this part of the world is just like the sea. It just keeps rising and falling like the waves of an ocean. The raging passions in this region are driven by deep waters of hatred, violence and revenge and while there are winds of change blowing, they are erratic and out of control like a storm at sea. They have no aim or purpose but can only cause some turbulence.

I hear many voices passionately and confidently telling us what they think is right and what is wrong in the current turmoil surrounding Syria, voices trying to convince us with logic or moral arguments. Those of us who love Israel must remember that sometimes the only way to cross these raging and violent sea changes is to keep an even keel. Have we forgotten the wisdom of Solomon, “Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.”Casting stones, blogs or even bombs changes nothing.

It is foolish to allow the winds of wars, lies and false narratives to divert our attention away from what we need to be doing right here at home, especially during the High Holidays. “Interfering in someone else's quarrel as you pass by is like grabbing a dog by the ears,” says Proverbs 26:17, and for good reason. There are times when it is not only useless but even dangerous to try and fight someone else’s battle.

That is why the prophet Isaiah reminds us that like the sea, the wicked can never be at rest. The Hebrew is stronger than our translation. It means that there is no possibility of its being at rest; it is unable to be still. The Septuagint renders it, “But the wicked are tossed like waves, and are not able to be at rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.” They will never be at peace. It is wisdom to understand that sometimes the best we can do is just ride out the storm.

If history is any indication we can be assured that the current Mideast turmoil will soon shift once again and only further Israel’s strength and presence in the Land. I remember not long ago how the Europeans were putting pressure on Israel to make a deal with Syria over the Golan Heights. Even the Americans entered the foray looking for some easy politically-correct fodder. How ridiculous peace with Syria sounds today.

Anyway, the facts on the ground and God’s purposes for Israel will determine the outcome of all of this, not all the lame attempts and deceptive rhetoric from the nations trying to calm the situation, nor for that matter every Facebook opinion, as well intended as they might be. Even the renewed push for Palestinian statehood will only further entrench Gaza and the West Bank into their own violent quagmire unless they are willing to change their ways. I should rather expect some surprising and unpredictable turn of events on that matter in the not too distant future.

I love to swim in the sea and when the waves are biggest. I put my head down and dive under where it is calm and quiet and let them roll right over. Sometimes that’s the best strategy of all. Fighting the waves only knocks me down and does absolutely nothing to change the storm.

The Psalmist says it best. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Be still and know that I am God.” Get in your Succah this week and read Psalm 46.

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Israel 'has had enough' of Syrian fire on Golan

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  

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Israeli and Syrian forces clashed in the Golan Heights on Tuesday in the most intense border incident since the start of Syria's civil war.

Syrian forces, both those belonging to the regime of Bashar Assad and rebel groups, have fired into the Israeli Golan Heights on a number of occasions over the past year. But until Tuesday, nearly all of those cross-border violations were classified as accidental.

For the first time in decades, Syrian officials on Tuesday confirmed that the Syrian army had purposely engaged Israeli troops on the border. The Syrians claimed to have destroyed an Israeli patrol vehicle, though Israel denied that it had suffered any casualties in the firefight.

Images published by the Hebrew press showed a Syrian force firing into Israel, and then being destroyed by an Israeli missile.

Shortly after the battle, Israeli army chief General Benny Gantz visited the area and stated that Israel "has had enough" of the cross-border attacks, and will make Assad pay.

It is still widely believed that Assad has no desire to provoke a full-scale war with Israel, knowing full well that he cannot fight both the Jewish state and the mounting rebel threat inside his own country. However, Gantz and other Israeli officials expect isolated cross-border incidents to increase significantly in the coming weeks.

* PHOTO: IDF chief Gen. Benny Gantz surveys the Golan border region.

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Israelis Pray as Hamas Missile Barrage Intensifies

By Julie Stahl

CBN News Middle East Correspondent

Monday, November 19, 2012

MOSHAV BEER TUVIA, Israel -- Hundreds of Israelis gathered to pray for their country as Hamas continued to launch rockets into Israel and the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on terror targets.

 

The terrorist group intensified its missile barrages against southern Israel over the weekend. More than 560 rockets have slammed into Israel so far, with another 300-plus intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile batteries.

Haim Gabo's house on Moshav Beer Tuvia was hit last week while his wife and children sat protected in their safe room.

"I don't want to think about what would happen if we didn't have shelter," Gabo said.

The Israeli army pounded Hamas buildings and weapons' storage facilities by land and sea over the weekend. They've targeted more than 1,350 terror sites in the last six days in what they're calling Pillar of Defense.

The air force has inflicted extensive damage on the terror infrastructure, including buildings, weapons launching facilities, and terrorist workshops.

In one case, Palestinians say a bomb killed 11 members of one family, including women and children. But Moshav Beer Tuvia resident Colleen Montgomery said the bad press against Israel isn't fair.

"Just remember, every time someone holds up a child who has been hurt in Gaza -- which we hope they aren't -- but if they are, somebody needs to place beside that pictures from Syria," Montgomery said.

"This has been a year and a half, two years going on, and nobody is getting in the middle of it, nobody's yelling," she added.

"I wish the yelling would stop at Israel," Montgomery said. "We are doing our best. We know our soldiers. They are not trying to do anything to the civilian population."

Meanwhile, Israeli public support for the ongoing military operation remains high.

Some 31,000 reservists have already been called up for a possible ground offensive. But some Western leaders are warning the Jewish state not to send their soldiers into Gaza.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Israel expects the world to stand behind its right to defend itself.

"We expect our allies to support us to use all our tools to bring peace to our people," he said. "So to say the least, we don't like these kind of reservations."

In Jerusalem, hundreds of Israelis gathered at the Western Wall to pray for their nation and for protection for the army. They prayed Psalm 121: "He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps."

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/November/Israelis-Pray-as-Hamas-Missile-Barage-Intensifies/