Collective Punishment for Gaza? No. Collateral Damage? Unfortunately, Yes

“Any dictatorship (and Hamas is one, of the Islamic theocratic variety) is first and foremost at war with the civilian population it controls, and then against other surrounding countries, only second.”

In the aftermath of Hamas’ unwarranted, uncivilized, vicious, and all but unprecedented attack on Israel, one option for the aggrieved nation would be basically to level the small bit of real estate that is Gaza to the ground, into rubble and dust. This would, of course, imply that literally hundreds of thousands would die, if the death toll did not reach into the seven figures. Many women, children, and men, including the elderly, would perish, along with several thousand of the guilty perpetrators.

The cry would go out that it would be unjust to impose collective punishment on Gazans. And imposing such collective punishment would certainly be unjustified. After all, these civilians were not guilty of perpetrating the crimes against Jewish humanity (Is there such a thing, in the view of many in Gaza?). Yes, many Palestinians were celebrating in the streets after the horror perpetrated upon the Israelis, and, yes, many voted Hamas into office. But gloating is not a capital crime. Nor is singing. In any case, the populace may well have been bullied into so doing. Certainly, no child in this territory can be seen as an appropriate target for any punishment whatsoever.

To engage in collective punishment is to aim death and destruction on civilians, as does Hamas.

So, what should Israel do in response to the tragedy recently inflicted upon it? It can aim at military targets and seek to reduce collateral damage to civilians as much as possible. That is, avoid collective punishment entirely.