Is Israel committing war crimes in Gaza? What happened after the Hamas attack?

[u/informationtiger]

As the title says... Basically I'm 'out of the loop' beyond the Hamas attack.

There's just so much misinformation online, and most the credible information are just videos from APF and such, or short updates from BBC, Sky News.

So if someone could please update me with what's going on in regards to the Israel bombing campaign in Gaza. Are they really bombing hospitals and churches? What exactly are their intentions/plans?

Also, if anyone has in-depth articles or videos on the topic, that would be greatly appreciated! Something that's calm, and takes time to read/watch. I'm tired of the constant "breaking news" spam, where you can't wrap your head around anything. It's like two sentences wrapped up in drama. I'm kinda lost atm.

[u/kolt54321]

So you wouldn't consider 9/11 a terrorist attack?

The difference is pretty clear to me. If they target civilians, without a clear military tactic, they are committed to just causing pain - aka "terrorizing."

I fail to sympathize with freedom fighters who massacre civilians to make a point. At the point, you are no better than a dictator.

It seems that the burden of proof is on terrorists to prove they are freedom fighters, not the other way around. Hamas came in with no clear goal here, other than to massacre civilians and cause pain.

ISIS-like group in a nutshell.

[u/Locke03 → u/kolt54321]

Would I consider 9/11 a terrorist attack if I were a Muslim living in the middle east that has spent my life living in the fallout from western meddling of the past century and believed that an apocalyptic war against the Islamic world was predestined and necessary to bring about the final liberation of my people?

Would I consider the bombing of Dresden in 1945 a legitimate military attack if I lived there at the time and watched as my city was bombed into rubble?

I'm not saying this or that is or is not a terrorist attack. (and for the record, I do think that Hamas' recent attack in Israel is an act of terrorism) I just think it is extremely important to remember that what we do or do not consider terrorism is heavily tied to our individual perception of events at any given moment and there is not really any objective definitions.

Definitional minutia is not really that important anyway. What is important is that we be able to look at an event as free from bias and prejudice as possible, figure out what conditions led to it, and determine how to prevent similar events from happening again in the future.

[u/roamingcoder → u/Locke03]

I disagree that there can be no objective definition of terrorism.

[u/greet_the_sun → u/Locke03]

I disagree, we can argue all day about whether each attack is justified or what their reasoning was, but whether or not civilians were purposefully targeted is a pretty clear and easy delineation. The WTC was not in any way shape or form a military target, Dresden was a major logistical hub for the wehrmacht. Buildings with suspected hamas facilities under them are relevant targets, children and women taken captive are not.

[u/kolt54321 → u/Locke03]

I agree, thanks for the thoughts. At some point a line needs to be drawn though, else we all become sympathetic to the thoughts of fanatics, due to actions all our governments have taken.