Gaza Body Count: Were We Duped?

It's easy to dupe a willing accomplice ...

Scott,
I don't know where you are getting your numbers, but the reports I have been getting was that militants were the vast majority of the casualities. And these were Palestinian sources. All these reports have to taken with a grain of salt. The initial Israeli reports were suspect, because to them, any male between the ages of 15 to 65 is a "militant". However, given the low percentage of civilian casualties reported by Palestinian sources, coming from sources which were likely to overinflate the number of civilian casualties, I believed these numbers trustworthy.

Did I believe these sources simply because they were Palestinian? No. I remember how inflated the numbers were from the Jenin "massacre" some years back. No, because given the situation in Gaza, with militants hiding among the civilian population, I felt that if the civilian casualties were such a small percentage, they just be correct.

Scott, you may have been duped by the PCHR numbers, but I doubt much of the rest of the world was . . . . . .

Once again, Time's Cairo Correspondent submits another great blog about Egypt !!!!

Scott, what were the final figures on civilian casualities for Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki ???

Then also: what were the final figures for Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden????

Scott,
I got most of my numbers from news reports who stated their numbers were from the Palestinian Ministry of Health (PMH). Now the numbers may not have been exactly what the PMH stated, but the numbers seemed consistant with everything else I read or heard.

I find the IDF just more suspect then Hamas when it comes to the truth of casualties. Infact, I would say this is propaganda from Israel. There is non-palestinian confirmation by human rights groups of Ambulances being fired upon by IDF soldiers, the UN compound shelled by IDF artillery and plenty of funerals for palestinian children.

Stop protecting these neo-nazi thugs

Dear fhm, if I understand correctly from your comments in the last blog, you are a Christian and an American citizen paying taxes to the United States government. If that is correct, then in other words: You are one sick human being!transfered to Florida. About the jungle warfare that went on in Florida against the Seminoles ? Have you read how the american army killed the Seminole chief while negotiating under a flag of truce??? Haven't you ever read what the United States army did in the Phillipines? And you have the nerve to complain about the Palestinians. Did United Nations General Secretary Kofe Anan describe the American invasion of Iraq as illegal. Scott says, 100,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq. Has even one single Iraq bullet, much less a missile, ever touched American soil???
(see next comment for Scott)

Dear Scott, living under a fascist government as I do, it is hard to know if my information is correct. I have heard that the United States and Britian enforced a no fly zone in Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait and they also set up an embargo of some kind. This led to shortages of food and medicine in Iraq and as a result the "food for oil" program was established (you remember the program where Kofe Anan's son was caught stealing). Anyway, the fascist newspapers in Israel suggested that, as a result of American policy, 250,000 children died in Iraq. Since fhmadvocat doesn't want his tax dollars used to oppress poor Palestinians, is there any way to check exactly how many Iraqi children died from fhmadvocates tax dollars. Since you are such good friend with the UN guy in Gaza this information should be easy to obtain. After all, they would not have established the food for oil program if there was no need, right? Also, could you show us how to find your blogs concerning the need in Iraq for a food gor oil program. Thank you

Scott,
First, let's discuss all this in the proper context: prior to the Gaza siege, Israel enclosed

1.5 million Palestinians in an open-air prison camp and for 2 years deprived them of basic

foods, energy, medical supplies and clean water. Over 50% of Palestinian youths in Gaza, the

majority population group there, suffer from growth defects as a result of malnutrition. Before

anything else can be discussed, this must be acknowledged. Indeed, ex-US President Jimmy Carter

called Israel's treatment of Palestinians akin "apartheid" as you will recall. Amnesty

International, BT'Selem, UNICEF, and the UN, amongst many others, decried humanitarian concerns

caused directly by the IDF within Gaza well before the latest Israeli murder-spree of civilians

in the strip. Supporting evidence (shortened due to Time blog filter for links):
(1) "Gaza issues toxic water warning" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7267011.stm
(2) Gaza conditions 'at 40-year low'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7280026.stm
(3) UN envoy hits Israel 'apartheid'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6390755.stm
(4) Rights groups: Humanitarian 'implosion' grips Gaza
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/06/gaza.crisis/index.html?iref=newssearch
(5) Children killed as Gaza violence flares
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/28/mideast/index.html?iref=newssearch
(6) Children and civilian bystanders in Gaza death toll http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-

updates/news/children-and-civilian-bystanders-gaza-death-toll-20080303
(7) Palestinians must not be re-imprisoned within the Gaza Strip http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-

media/press-releases/palestinians-must-not-be-re-imprisoned-within-gaza-strip-20080125
(8) Ugly Reality of Israeli Atrocities: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style
/article394547.ece
(9) http://tonykaron.com/2006/12/22/israel-and-apartheid-in-defense-of-jimmy-carter
.
Scott, I believe you touched upon that context when you wrote, "Israeli authorities barred

journalists access to Gaza until the end of the war, hindering independent accounts of the

conflict and its effects." In effect, the IDF dug its own PR grave long ago by barring UN Human

Rights inspectors and journalists even BEFORE the violent siege of Gaza. Further, the IDF is

hardly a credible organization when one merely glimpses at its perfect record of disseminating

falsehoods about its campaigns. Former IDF officers and other personnel frequently decry the

IDF's atrocious policies handed from the top down to basically murder innocent Palestinians.

Supporting evidence:
(1) Former IDF Captain Exposes War Crimes in Recent Gaza Strike by Israel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pfb02bLq6o
(2) Two Israeli Defense Force Veterans Speak Out About Israel's Atrocities:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37MFa7ZKQWo
(3) "The video Israel does not want you to see":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW1-_JmXQt0&feature=related
(4) CNN asks IDF spokesman why a 4 story hospital with no militants was decimated killing

hundreds of innocent civilians in the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6fn5NZ6LBk
.
So, once we acknowledge the proper context, we can then discuss the Gaza siege. For the sake of

argument, let us say that the figures were exaggerated with respect to the adults. This doesn't

explain away the 460+ dead children's bodies who are not as easily mistaken as militants. And

even if they were militants, they are a civilian militia. In the US, the right to a civilian

militia is granted to us inalienably under the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Without an

official air force or army, does Israel expect the population to simply acquiesce to the

plundering of their land and the rape of their culture and basic human dignities?

The Palestinians are famous for their trumped up lies.
Have you forgotten the claim of "thousands killed in Jenin" only to have an international investigation find that there were 52 casualties, nearly all of them armed fighters.
Do the palestinian sources distinguish between those killed by IDF forces, and those Fatah members killed by Hamas? Are neutral autopsy reports available to determine how each person was killed ( For example: if killed by gunfire; What caliber? If by explosion; What type of shrapnel, ball bearings would indicate Hamas booby traps, etc? )? Do the numbers include palestinian civilians killed by Hamas booby traps and misfired rockets?

You see, there is much more to casualty counts than simple numbers.

drorbenami,
Why are you stuck in the past? First of all, while the U.S. was attacking the Seminoles, I would have been a slave and taxes would have been the last thing on my mind. Even the Iraq invasion is over. As far as a comparison, at least the U.S. is trying to help the Iraqis from a democratic government and I don't see the U.S. claiming "disputed" territory for the U.S. If anything, I should be upset because my tax dollars have been helping support Iranian foreign policy during the Bush years.

What has Israel done for the Palestinians, except support the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood to challenge for supremacy in the occupied territories? And we have seen where Israel's support has gotten them. That little cute experiment blew up in the Israeli's faces, quite literally. The Israeli government secretly supported radical Islamic groups in the occupied territories in an effort to hurt the influence of the PLO. Now, look at the Frankenstein monster it helped create. When your hair is on fire, gasoline will not put the fire out.

fhm, ah ha, so you are a black american christian. if you keep this up long enough I'll figure out your grandparent's first names. You are living on occupied land, not in the past, right now. The indian treaties that were signed 100 years ago are still in effect. Why do you think the government is paying damages all the time. The indians find a treaty, bring it into the courts and demand compensation. Not in the past, now. Haven't you heard that, according to a recently discovered treaty, 2/3 of Maine belongs to the indians ??? Secondly, didn't you see the movie rage??? Don't you remember the Asian slaves in the back of the truck? What about the prostituton slave trade that is going on in the United States right now. Many people think it is only girls from east europe, as if that would make it okay, but many of these girls forced to be slave prostitutes are American citizens. Finally, as the descendant of slaves, who do you think enslaved your people and sold them to the british slave traders from liverpool: the Jews??? Please fhm, as we used to say in high school: wake up and die right !!!

Scott,
First, let's discuss all this in the proper context: prior to the Gaza siege, Israel enclosed 1.5 million Palestinians in an open-air prison camp and for 2 years deprived them of basic foods, energy, medical supplies and clean water. Over 50% of Palestinian youths in Gaza, the
majority population group there, suffer from growth defects as a result of malnutrition. Before anything else can be discussed, this must be acknowledged. Indeed, ex-US President Jimmy Carter called Israel's treatment of Palestinians akin "apartheid" as you will recall. Amnesty
International, BT'Selem, UNICEF, and the UN, amongst many others, decried humanitarian concerns caused directly by the IDF within Gaza well before the latest Israeli murder-spree of civilian in the strip. Some supporting evidence (there was much more but the blog filter wouldn't allow me to post it all -- this is a reduced list):
(1) Gaza conditions 'at 40-year low'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7280026.stm
(2) Rights groups: Humanitarian 'implosion' grips Gaza
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/06/gaza.crisis/index.html?iref=newssearch
(3) Children and civilian bystanders in Gaza death toll http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/children-and-civilian-bystanders-gaza-death-toll-20080303
(4) http://tonykaron.com/2006/12/22/israel-and-apartheid-in-defense-of-jimmy-carter
.
I believe that you touched upon that context when you wrote, "Israeli authorities barred journalists access to Gaza until the end of the war, hindering independent accounts of the conflict and its effects." In effect, the IDF dug its own PR grave long ago by barring UN Human Rights inspectors and journalists even BEFORE the violent siege of Gaza. Further, the IDF is hardly a credible organization when one merely glimpses at its perfect record of disseminating falsehoods about its campaigns. Former IDF officers and other personnel frequently decry the IDF's atrocious policies handed from the top down to basically murder innocent Palestinians. Supporting evidence (again, shortened):
(1) Former IDF Captain Exposes War Crimes in Recent Gaza Strike by Israel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pfb02bLq6o
(2) Two Israeli Defense Force Veterans Speak Out About Israel's Atrocities: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37MFa7ZKQWo
.
So, once we acknowledge the proper context, the 2 years during which Israel put these people into an open-air concentration camp like Nazis, we can then discuss the Gaza siege. For the sake of argument, let us say that the figures were exaggerated with respect to the adults. This doesn't explain away the 460+ dead children's bodies who are not as easily mistaken as militants. And even if they were militants, they are a civilian militia. In the US, the right to a civilian militia is granted to us inalienably under the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Without an official air force or army, does Israel expect the population to simply acquiesce to the plundering of their land and the rape of their culture and basic human dignities?

fhm, doesn't it bother you that a person like Persian advocat is on "your side" of the argument. He is obviously demented. Did you notice that Scott thanked you for your comments, but has totally ignored my comments about the Sudanese refugees shot in the back by Egyptian border guards. Don't you realize these refugees are black christians ??? That is happening right now, not in the past. In Cairo there is a neighborhood called: The City of Garbage. The people who live there RIGHT NOW are christians. But I like the past, Jews are very proud of their role in history. Haven't you ever heard of Buffalo Soldiers? They got the name from the American indians. Don't you know that the Buffalo Soldiers were led by General "BlacK Jack" Pershing into cross border excursions against Pancho Villa? I liked my high school days, so here's another quote: RHM, are you serious or are you delirious ???

Excellent post persianadvocate.

Dear Scott, nice touch quoting the rabbis at the end. If one who destroys a life is destroying a world then the 800,000 black christians killed in Sudan equals what, half a galaxy???? Funny how you never analyze the death tolls in Sudan. And this 100,000 civilian deaths in Iraq you spoke of. Where did you get that figure from Scott? When Israel fights you count every single person (and Tim McGirk counts their underpants). When Americans and British fight in Iraq you just round it off to the nearest ten thousand, right Scott? I have a cute story for you: During the 2nd Lebanon war the B.B.C. was giving a hourly death toll of civilians in Lebanon based on Hizballah figures. Anyway, after about a week the 5 minute new report stated the current figure was 259 dead. Then, after the news Owen Bennet Jones says: "I have just received a news bullentin from Reuters: British forces in Afganistan called in an American airstrike and destroyed a school. It is reported that 300 civilians were killed". Then there was a few seconds silence. In other words: British and American forces killed more civilians in 5 minutes than Israel had killed in a week. The B.B.C. never reported the airstrike again. Following, I will post three articles from wikipedia...notice that death estimates are in the thousand and tens of thousands. No one knows for sure, even approximately, how many people were killed. But for Israel 5 commisions are going to be established to determine exactly how many people were killed. But hey.....people are people, everyone is equal in the eyes of God, right Scott????

September 1970 is known as the Black September (Arabic: أيلول الأسود) in Arab history and sometimes is referred to as the "era of regrettable events." It was a month when Hashemite King Hussein of Jordan moved to quash the autonomy of Palestinian organizations and restore his monarchy's rule over the country.[2] The violence resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, the vast majority Palestinian.[1] Armed conflict lasted until July 1971 with the expulsion of the PLO and thousands of Palestinian fighters to Lebanon.

My comment: After leaving Jordan the peace loving P.L.O. moved to Lebanon where a civil war started resulting in the deaths of "approximately" 750,000 Lebanese. (i.e. Arabs killed Arabs)

The Sabra and Shatila massacre (or Sabra and Chatila massacre; Arabic: مذبحة صبرا وشاتيلا‎ Maḏbaḥat Ṣabrā wa Shātīlā) (33°51′40.47″N 35°30′01.50″E / 33.8612417°N 35.500417°E / 33.8612417; 35.500417) was carried out between September 16 and 18, 1982 by the Lebanese Forces militia group after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) allowed Lebanese Phalangist militiamen to enter two Palestinian refugee camps, and the militia massacred civilians inside. It was argued that the Israelis should have known that a massacre could occur, considering the assassination of Phalangist leader and prospective president Bachir Gemayel two days before, and given the long history of animosity between the Palestinians and the Phalangists.

The exact number killed is disputed, with estimates ranging from 328 to 3,500 (see below).

The Phalangists stood under the direct command of Elie Hobeika, who later became a long-serving Lebanese Member of Parliament and, in the 1990s, a cabinet minister. The Israeli military's Chief of Staff was Lt. General Rafael Eitan, and Israel's Defence Minister was Ariel Sharon.

My comment: Arik Sharon was investigated and, eventually, forced to resign as defense minister. As the article says: Elie Hobeika was never investgated by the Lebanese government and not one Roman Catholic Lebanese was procetuted for murder.

Hama in Syria: Political insurgency by Islamic groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood beginning in the early 1980s culminated in an uprising in February, 1982. Government forces led by the president's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, quelled the revolt, but killed thousands of civilians and destroyed much of the old part of the city in the process. The town was shelled by the Syrian military, and the estimated deaths numbered more than 20,000 and may have been as high as 30,000 or 40,000, a big portion of them were women and children. The story is suppressed in Syria.

Is Arik Sharon a War Criminal ?

During the 1st War in Lebanon I served as a combat soldier in the I.D.F., yet it seems to me the answer to this question is: "definitely yes". Let's look at the historical records, shall we: After the Council of Nicaea historian Edward Gibbon estimates that the Roman Catholic Church killed more Christians than the Roman Empire. Then we have the Crusades, most of which were spent looting and raping the Greek Orthodox in Byzantium than freeing Jerusalem from the infidels. Then in France we have the Albigencian crusade against a wayward sect of Catholics and the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre of the Huguenots. Following this we have the Inquisition (since every one in the world has heard the rock group Queen sing about: "Galileo, Galileo", at least twice, there is no need to elaborate). Then, of course, we have the "peaceful occupation" of Central and South America by the Conquistadors. In modern times we have the Roman Catholic Church's endorsement of both Franco and Mussolini and we have the agreements negotiated by Franz Von Papen which united the Catholic Youth groups in Germany with the Hitler Youth. This is how Pope Benedict became a member of the Hitler Youth until the war ended in 1945 when the Pope was 17 years old. That members of the Hitler Youth as young as age 14 were actively involved in the fighting is well documented by both the American and Russian armies (The Pope, of course, was a member of the "pacifist wing" of the Hitler Youth). And, finally, we have the Roman Catholic Ustashi in Croatia and its war against the Greek Orthodox Serbs. Therefore, in conclusion, in view of the historical record, Arik Sharon's claim that he "never imagined" that the Roman Catholic Maronites in Lebanon could carry a massacre is: "simply ludicrous".

Dror Ben Ami
Tel Aviv

The loss of even ONE innocent matters and the debate over a body count while INNOCENT children are suffering from the insane cycle of violence makes me wonder WHERE IS COMPASSION?
.

In November 2006, Father Manuel, the parish priest at the Latin Church and school in Gaza wrote:
.

"Gaza cannot sleep! The people are suffering unbelievably. They are hungry, thirsty, have no electricity or clean water. They are suffering constant bombardments and sonic booms from low flying aircraft. They need food: bread and water. Children and babies are hungry...people have no money to buy food. The price of food has doubled and tripled due to the situation. We cannot drink water from the ground here as it is salty and not hygienic. People must buy water to drink. They have no income, no opportunities to get food and water from outside and no opportunities to secure money inside of Gaza. They have no hope...
.
"Without electricity children are afraid. No light at night. No oil or candles...
.
"Thirsty children are crying, afraid and desperate...Many children have been violently thrown from their beds at night from the sonic booms. Many arms and legs have been broken. These planes fly low over Gaza and then reach the speed of sound. This shakes the ground and creates shock waves like an earthquake that causes people to be thrown from their bed. I, myself weigh 120 kilos and was almost thrown from my bed due to the shock wave produced by a low flying jet that made a sonic boom...
.

"Gaza cannot sleep...the cries of hungry children, the sullen faces of broken men and women who are just sitting in their hungry emptiness with no light, no hope, no love. These actions are War Crimes!"
.

READ what Fr. Manuel wrote January 2009:
http://www.amostrust.org/downloads/From_the_Church_of_God_in_Gaza.pdf
.
COMING SOON:
.
THE PALESTINE TELEGRAPH: the first online newspaper ENVISIONED, FOUNDED, and BASED in Gaza and Internationally staffed by volunteers with a conscience and compassion.
.
Eileen Fleming, Founder WAWA:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Author "Keep Hope Alive"
"Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"
Producer "30 Minutes With Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu"

Dror, while I appreciate the vast of amount of information you have thrown into this discussion, I can't help but notice that your comments are always deflecting any real response to Israel's culpability in this latest event. For the record, I am a white American Christian so my perception is vulnerable to the thousands of miles and countless spins a story takes before reaching my eyes/ears, but I do make every effort to keep my myself informed on world events with an open mind and the most unbiased sources at my disposal. To address your countless arguments about similar wrongs committed by others in the past, I'm sure you're right. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that the U.S. is guilty of war crimes for their murder of thousands of civilians in Iraq. My rationale behind that view is the same that faults Israel for its latest actions: the amount of "collateral damage" is VASTLY disproportionate to the operations intended objectives. That does not, however, change the fact that Isreal has also committed a grievous wrong in Gaza. What happened to the value of a single human life??? Especially from two countries who tout their laws/beliefs as morally-superior???
*
While I can appreciate your defensive stance on the issues, you have to understand that Israel has been suddenly placed on the extreme defensive for a reason. There is a REASON why even their closest ally (USA) has uttered scarcely more than an ambiguous response about a country's right to defend itself when asked about Israel's actions. Just as there is a REASON that international human rights organizations are now looking into allegations of war crimes by the IDF. All of these events occurring less than one month after Israel's brutal assault in Gaza leads any logical person to see that this is not coincidental. The backlash against Isreal has been extreme because their actions were EXTREME!
*
The only way for someone to justify the Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza is for them to argue that an Isreali life is worth more than a Palestinian life. Regardless of where the actual death toll stands, you would still have to be able to digest this equation: 1 ICD (Israeli civilian death) = 50 PCD (Palestinian civilan deaths)
*
I'm certainly no methematician, but as we say here in the States, "It doesn't add up."
*
With that said, I think it might be refreshing to everyone here to have you, Dror, acknowledge that Isreal acted with extreme, very likely CRIMINAL, force in their assault on Gaza last month.
*
If you are unable to do that, I'm afraid I may have to take a page from your book and issue you the same title you just gave to persianadvocate: "Demented"
*
Gary

To add to my comment above, I don't think anyone is under ANY illusion that these human rights investigations and inquiries will actually lead to any kind of indictment...
*
...Just as I don't think any Americans believe that the Bush administration will ever be held accountable for their crimes against humanity and rape of our Constitution...
*
But sometimes just the act of acknowledging it can be cathartic, albeit relatively innocuous. That said, Sen. Patrick Leahy's Truth Commission may not send Bush to prison, but it will hopefully show the world that America acknowledges her past crimes and has commited to preventing any similar behavior in the future.
*
Like the first step in America's ever-popular substance abuse support group (Alcoholics Anonymous), "Step 1 is admitting that you have a problem."

The author is at least honest about his own bias. He puts much emphasis on the word of his friend, the Palestinian activist. I note that the author totally ignores this crucial fact:

While in Israel and indeed, around the world, ALL Jewish rallies were equally dedicated to peace for BOTH Palestinians and Israelis, NOT A SINGLE ONE of the anti Israeli marches could claim the same.

The pro Palestinian marches, at least here in the UK, frequently turned violent, with Orthodox Jews being physically hauled out of cars and beaten up in the middle of the street. Even the British police can be seen turning and FLEEING from the pro Palestine mobs as they went rampaging through London, smashing shop windows and screaming 'death to the jews' and 'death to israel'.

And what many posters here are forgetting:

Israel was *responding* to EIGHT YEARS OF HAMAS TERRORISM.

Under international LAW, if one government (Hamas) initiates war against another government (Israel), then the latter is legally and MORALLY obliged and entitled to RETALIATE.

Israel phoned over 250,000 Palestinian homes to plead with the people to evacuate, even Hamas terrorists were given this courtesy. Name me ONE other country that shows such decency to an enemy that is openly and actively working to destroy it???

It is estimated by a respected Italian newspaper, whose reporter was IN GAZA, and who researched properly, that 600 OR LESS Palestinians were killed. And most were Hamas terrorists - or indeed, people killed when explosives OWNED BY HAMAS detonated.

If anyone wants to read more FACTS on this issue, please go to
http://ajewwithaview.wordpress.com

clevengergl,
It is a complex situation, but I think part of the problem with proportionality lies with the types of responses that people find appropriate. An 'eye for an eye' response would consist of gangs of Israelis indiscriminately launching missiles into Gaza. Would anybody in their right mind suggest that this course of action is reasonable, advisable, or acceptable? Probably not. Alternatively, Israel could have conducted its operation by only targeting rocket launching cells if and when Israel sustained a casualty - however this type of responsive activity would never get anywhere and is ineffective.
.
One of Israel's stated aims in the Gaza conflict was to establish a deterrent. Given Hamas' public and repeated calls for Israel's destruction, many supporters of Israel feel that the ONLY reason that Hamas would stop launching rockets is if they are fully aware that even a single rocket would result in a response of overwhelming force. It is also very important to note that Israel was not bombing Gaza until dozens of rockets were launched into Israel after the cease fire expired - Israel's military response was provoked, and without those rockets falling, the death toll for both sides would have been 0. (I am sure this is where the 'chicken-and-egg' argument about the blockade will ensue, however people should honestly ask themselves whether violence is the best means of lifting the blockade)
.
One other key issue, when basing allegations of criminal acts on body counts, must be Hamas' repeated use of human shields, booby trapping schools, and keeping huge weapon caches in mosques. These acts INTENTIONALLY place civilian lives at risk, and present Israel with the unenviable choice of either allowing Hamas to operate without retaliation or to respond with the utmost discretion. I am not saying that Israel is blameless, but Hamas must absolutely be held accountable as well (furthermore, they often make public statements proclaiming the glory of their 'martyrs' and many high-level Hamas operatives intentionally keep their children nearby when committing acts of terror since they know Israel will then have to use restraint).
.
After the most recent conflict in Lebannon, Hezbollah leaders acknowledged that if they knew how Israel was going to respond, they would not have perpetrated the initial attack. The optimal situation for everyone involved would be for no attacks to take place on either side, and if one side will not halt attacks out of respect or desire for peace, unfortunately it must be coerced through fear of reprisal.