On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization

by Douglas Murray

The Israelis had two stated objectives: to free the hostages and to destroy Hamas. Inside Gaza there was now a third objective, which was to separate out the civilian population from the combatants of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups. It was already clear that this third objective could be as difficult as the first two. Hamas was reported to be stopping people in the north from leaving their homes, making sure that their fighters who wore civilian clothing and operated from civilian buildings continued to blend in among the civilian population as much as possible. Out of uniform an enemy combatant and a civilian are difficult—sometimes impossible—to tell apart. But that was how Sinwar and Hamas wanted it. They wanted as much confusion as possible. Added to this is Hamas’s well-documented and long-running practice of using civilian infrastructure for military purposes. Although this is against the Geneva Conventions, Hamas has long used civilian homes, mosques, schools, and hospitals (among much else) as sites to store weaponry, create entrances to the underground tunnel network, and—it was already believed—hold Israeli hostages.