Gaza, facts, and Urban Combat

In April 1916 Dublin City had over 400,000 people when Pearse, Connolly and 5 others in the IRB secret Mil Cte , choose to launch their Easter Rising. They rightly surrendered after 6 days of intense urban fighting, in order  to avoid further carnage - by then the 254 civilian dead [ who were most of those killed ] had averaged 42 daily, or 10.5 per 100,000 daily. They surrendered un-conditionally.

Gaza has 4.5 times as many people. The UN now estimates that in 13 days of  urban fighting,  508 have been killed, 72% of them civilian [ as in 1916 in Dublin, most of the dead are civilian  ]. That is a civilian rate per 100,000 daily of 1.5   - so 1916 in Dublin was SEVEN times worse for civilians.

Since gunpowder was invented, no military commander or force  has ever been able to avoid all civilian casualties in intense urban fighting. Not one. Not in Normandy in 1944. Not in Gaza in 2014. .Not in 1916 in Dublin.  So to now demonize the Israelis,  when 1916 in Dublin was SEVEN times worse, is not only totally unfounded, but sheer bias.

When Egypt proposed an immediate and un-conditional Ceasefire in Gaza, Israel  complied - at once and in full. And un-conditionally. What did Hamas do ? They fired another 47 Rockets at civilians, at towns within Israel, in the following 6 hours, thus compelling Israel to resume operations to end that firing by Hamas.

Hamas now should follow the 1916 Irish example, and end at once further death, injury and destruction for their own people, by an immediate and un-conditional Ceasefire.