A Distinction to Remember in the Gaza War

null Dec. 4, 2023 5:10 pm ETIsraeli soldiers in Jabalya in the Gaza Strip, Dec. 2. Photo: israel defense forces/ReutersIn drawing “moral distinctions” between the Hamas and Israeli forces, William McGurn nicely dissects the implications of former President Barack Obama’s call for an “admission of complexity” (“Harvard’s Hamas Confusion,” Main Street, Nov. 28). But Mr. McGurn could have taken his analysis a step further.Just like Israel warned Gaza City residents to leave before its airstrikes, Hamas tried repeatedly to get Israelis to avoid the concert near the border and leave the nearby kibbutzim, right? Wrong, of course, and therein lies a fundamental distinction. Israel would have been glad to see Gazan civilians evacuated to safety to avoid its airstrikes, but Hamas would have been bitterly disappointed if those Israeli civilians hadn’t been around to be slaughtered.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8Sponsored OffersTurb

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A Distinction to Remember in the Gaza War

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Dec. 4, 2023 5:10 pm ET

Israeli soldiers in Jabalya in the Gaza Strip, Dec. 2. Photo: israel defense forces/Reuters

In drawing “moral distinctions” between the Hamas and Israeli forces, William McGurn nicely dissects the implications of former President Barack Obama’s call for an “admission of complexity” (“Harvard’s Hamas Confusion,” Main Street, Nov. 28). But Mr. McGurn could have taken his analysis a step further.

Just like Israel warned Gaza City residents to leave before its airstrikes, Hamas tried repeatedly to get Israelis to avoid the concert near the border and leave the nearby kibbutzim, right? Wrong, of course, and therein lies a fundamental distinction. Israel would have been glad to see Gazan civilians evacuated to safety to avoid its airstrikes, but Hamas would have been bitterly disappointed if those Israeli civilians hadn’t been around to be slaughtered.