The conflict in Gaza usually evokes responses along long drawn battle lines. The Israelis and their supporters and sympathisers point to the horror of living under constant fear of death, and ask whether they don't have the right to defend themselves. The Palestinians point to the Israeli excesses and ask whether they don't have the right to defend themselves. Of course, like all true moral dilemmas, they both have a point.
However, the following statistics posted by the BBC puts this conflict into sharper relief:
- Thirteen Israelis killed
- More than 1,300 Palestinians killed
- More than 4,000 buildings destroyed in Gaza, more than 20,000 severely damaged
- 50,000 Gazans homeless, and
- 400,000 Gazans without running water
Until the Israeli offensive began, not one Israeli had been killed.
It seems that the Israelis could a 100:1 ratio of deaths justifiable in their retaliation. Most bizarrely, by Israel's own admission, they didn't take down any significant portion of Hamas' leadership. What in the world were the Israelis thinking before they started this carnage?
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