• tygerprints@kbin.social
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    10 months ago

    If that doesn’t merit the terms “murderous” and “brutal,” what in hell does??? I do agree that both terms are a bit too lenient and lighthearted for what they are actually doing. But, I’m sure the next generation of Palestinians won’t be already amassing arms in anticipation of a bloody retaliation necessitating further non-“murderous” responses from Israel in the future. Right?

  • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    I’ll go ahead and type what they mean.

    NRPI - No Real Person Involved

    It’s the most disgusting but most honest corporate term I have ever seen. Palestinians aren’t real to these people. They are clumped together into “casualties” and maybe, if they are lucky, “civilian casualties”. How many “non-real person” deaths does it take to force people to acknowledge this genocide?

    • Milk_Sheikh@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Watching an MSF volunteer doctor describe WCNSF while the interviewer sat mute and emotionless was telling.

      There’s an acronym that’s unique to the Gaza Strip, it’s WCNSF - wounded child, no surviving family - and it’s not used infrequently

      She almost broke down mid sentence, the host was ready to move on to the next segment piece of the broadcast…

  • OccamsTeapot@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Bombs dropped from thousands of feet and artillery shells lofted into Gaza from kilometers away result in death and destruction on a massive scale, but it is carried out remotely. The deadly results are unseen by those who caused them and the source unseen by those [who] suffer and die.

    It’s a different kind of event and is described differently as ‘intensive,’ ‘unrelenting,’ and ‘punishing,’ raining death and destruction on one of the most densely populated places on earth…They are different stories, and we have tried to describe both accurately and vividly.  

    It’s not “murderous” if it’s done from far away, apparently. Hitler didn’t personally see the Jews he sent to the death camps so he wasn’t “murderous” he was just “unrelenting” and “intensive.” Aww he was just a hard worker then, bless his cotton socks.

  • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    20,000 is low numbers for the British. If they admit that’s too many people killed, they’d have to admit that they’re an island descended from murderous, genocidal zealots and colonizing savages.

      • chaogomu@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        What face is on Canadian money?

        Also, don’t look up the Canadian residential schools if you’re squeamish.

        • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Thats great but you understand they’re two very different countries, right?

          • chaogomu@kbin.social
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            10 months ago

            It’s slightly more complicated than that.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations

            And also, the Residential Schools were 100% Canadian.

            Not that Canada was the only country to have them, no. I mean, the fault for what happened in the Canadian ones was 100% on Canada. They enforced the system with fucking Mounties, and kept those torture houses going until 1997.

        • Undearius@lemmy.ca
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          10 months ago

          A bunch of Canadian prime ministers, a civil activist, and the former queen of Canada.

    • rdyoung@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      To be fair, you can say that about every country. Humans are a virus that spreads without remorse or concern.

    • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I mean, you’re right. In terms of proportionality, are the terms fair? No, they aren’t, for the reason you point out. They aren’t proportionately more brutal than other responses to terrorism. 22,500 is 0.004% of the population of Palestine. There’s Colonialists that have wiped out entire populations, but like the war in Iraq killed 0.6% of the population. Proportionately, Iraq killed 150 times more civilians, if I’m doing this math correctly. Not my strongest skill.

    • BunEnjoyer@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      I’ll have you know that they’ve had running water for at least the last 10 years

  • Arete@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Is this 22,600 number accurate? It’s more precise than I would expect. I’ve also seen estimates of 8000 hamas militants killed, which is presumably included here as the Gaza authorities have never previously made a distinction. That suggests about 2 civilian deaths per soldier killed which is honestly a lot less than I would expect given all the “genocide” rhetoric.

    I think Afghanistan ended up being about 1 civilian per 2 soldiers? That’s 4x lower, but was largely fought in low population density deserts. Is there even a modern equivalent to draw a comparison with to gauge what a “normal” civilian casualty rate is for urban warfare?

      • Arete@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        How so? I obviously assume the numbers on both sides are exaggerated, which is why I rounded everything in favor of there being more civilian deaths. How many hamas fighters do you think have been killed?

    • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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      10 months ago

      “Did that even happen?
      And if it did, was it that bad?
      And if it was, was it that big of a deal?
      And if it was, does it matter?
      And if it does, did they mean it?
      And if they did, didn’t the victims deserve it?”

      The narcissist’s prayer is no less cowardly when you phrase it in question form.

      • Arete@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        If I said something factually wrong please correct me. Otherwise let’s leave the ad hominem attacks unsaid.

        • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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          10 months ago

          An ad hominem would be “you are wrong because you are a coward”. My statement was in effect “you are wrong and you are a coward”.

          You could call it an insult, although I would say it was a generous term for someone who offers up mealy mouthed equivocations over the wholesale slaughter of civilians from the air by a nuclear power.

          You didn’t say much that was wrong; you didn’t say much at all. You were just asking questions.

        • chaogomu@kbin.social
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          10 months ago

          Well, first of all is the idea that this level of destruction is in any way normal in war.

          Take a look at this chart here. Those date ranges in the chart have some of the bloodiest conflict in each war, and yet on any given day only a handful of children would die.

          Israel is killing an average of almost 150 children per day.

          That’s why we’re calling it a genocide.

          • Arete@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Appreciate the good faith response. While I’m certainly not going to excuse thousands of dead children, I don’t find these other conflicts comparable for the following reasons:

            • these are averaged over about a decade, most of which is in the form of a “frozen” conflict between entrenched armies outside of populated areas. We might (I don’t have numbers on this) see a much higher rate if we focused in on the hottest/most urban part of each war. The “30 day” range for this conflict is widely out of step with the others. If we “froze” the conflict for a decade, we’d depress the number by 120x and it would suddenly match the others.
            • most of these did not involve significant urban conflict in populated areas, especially with an entrenched defender making use of human shields.
            • the average age in Gaza is only ~18, meaning all else being equal, child deaths will be outsized. Further, Hamas employs teenage soldiers and the provided numbers don’t make a civilian/militant distinction. As horrific as it is, there is a difference between an armed 17 year old child soldier and a 3 year old bystander.
            • chaogomu@kbin.social
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              10 months ago

              Okay, city fighting is messy…

              Except the second item on the list,

              https://edition.cnn.com/gaza-israel-big-bombs

              Israel is using 2000lbs bombs in Gaza, using hundreds of them. These are not, in any way, targeted strikes. They kill civilians by the dozens.

              In 20 years of war, the US only ever used 500lbs bombs in urban environments. Even that was often barbaric in the amount of collateral damage caused.

              Also, are you calling the fucking Battle of Mosula frozen conflict?

              That was some of the bloodiest fighting in the entire war, all of it urban. There were fewer children killed in the entire 9 months than there have been killed in 3 in Gaza. And not by a small amount.

              • Arete@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                Yeah those are fair points. I’ve never defended the usage of 2000 pound bombs in urban areas.

                I’m also certainly not calling Mosul a frozen conflict, merely noting that it is deceptive to present an average figure of child deaths over the 14 year long Iraq war against 30 days of intense urban fighting in Gaza.

                I didn’t follow the fighting at the time, but per wikipedia the operation took 9 months, with the majority of the fighting/bombing happening during the initial 3 months during which half the city was taken. The enemy force was approximately half as strong as Hamas, and an estimated 20k - 40k civilians were killed, with about 1 million displaced. Interestingly it seems like the population density is somewhat comparable today, although it is hard to estimate the population at the time.

                Taken together, this might make Mosul a good benchmark against which to judge the Israeli assault. Doing so, Israel definitely seems more cavalier to civilian deaths, but not wildly so. I still don’t see “genocide” here.

                • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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                  10 months ago

                  I still don’t see “genocide” here.

                  Said another way: “And if it was, does it matter?”

                  You’re following the narcissist’s prayer to a tee.

                • chaogomu@kbin.social
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                  10 months ago

                  Take it from someone who was paying attention at the time. As bloody and horrific as it was, the fighting in Mosul was fucking laser guided precision compared to what Israel is doing in Gaza.

                  Israel is using massive bombs in areas that it tells refugees are safe. They bomb refugee camps and convoys. As in, directly targeting them, with bombs designed to cause as much collateral damage as possible.

                  And remember, the refugees are only camped in those places and taking those routes because Israel said they would be safe.


                  As to the “not being fair” comparing the dead children in different wars, remember that Total deaths of children in Iraq, for the entire 14 years of the conflict with ISIS, were less than died in Gaza in a single month.

                  That’s what you don’t seem to understand. That’s why we can easily call this a genocide in motion.

                  Add in comments by Israeli officials about “voluntary resettlement” in other countries.

                  It’s pure genocide. They’re literally saying “leave your home or die, surrender your land and property on the way out”. It’s exactly what the Germans said to Jews in the lead up to the Holocaust.

        • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          But thats not an ad hominem attack, it’s a direct critique of the form your statement takes.

    • BunEnjoyer@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      Not only Urban warfare but a terrorist regime that is actively using its own civilians as human shields.

        • BunEnjoyer@lemmy.ca
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          10 months ago

          Yes that’s right they were, unsure what that has to do with the above.

          Military friendly fire incidents are also incredibly high in most conflicts.

          • Doorbook@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Anthony Hurndall shared information about his son’s shooting, showcasing how Israeli military tactics are responsible for killing innocent people.

            Tom Hurndall was a photography student, International Solidarity Movement volunteer and an activist against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

            In April 2003, the 22-year-old was shot by IDF sniper Taysir Hayb while assisting Palestinian children caught in the crossfire in Gaza. He was left in a coma and died nine months later.

            An investigation revealed that Soroka Hospital’s medical staff removed bullet fragments from Tom’s brain. Initially, the hospital claimed that his injuries were caused by a baseball bat. When that was refuted, the Israeli government claimed he was carrying a weapon and was a gunman.

            Hayb was later sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter after it was revealed that he thought he was following standard military procedure.

            “The investigation further revealed that, as standard practice, the IDF routinely falsely misrepresent civilians and children as militants, or as armed, and fabricate accounts of events as a pretext for their killing,” Hurndall, who is director of the Center for Justice, told The Times.

            • BunEnjoyer@lemmy.ca
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              10 months ago

              Again unsure what this has to do with Hamas using civilians as human shields.

              This is really just a propaganda outlet for the muslim brotherhood eh?

              This is the same level of whataboutism that chinese nationalism when you point out that maybe some people died during the great leap forward.

              Can you just communicate in words what you’re trying to say? I can pull up stories making either side look worse too.