The Just War

Young Israeli soldier near the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Author Levi Meir Clancy (CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication)

South Africa — where the system of institutionalized racism known as apartheid was in effect for over four decades — is alleging that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza [1][2].

As a result, the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial arm of the United Nations (UN), has ordered Israel to take measures to prevent and punish genocide [3].

Civilian Casualty Ratio

“Civilian casualties in combat are always devastating and tragic.  But unfortunately they are a feature of nearly every war.”

–Col. Richard Kemp (Ret.), British Infantry Commander

The UN puts the civilian casualty ratio during war and conflict, i.e. the ratio of civilian deaths to deaths by combatants, at 9:1 (90%) worldwide [11].

During WWII, the civilian casualty ratio was between 3:2 and 2:1 (or 60% to 67%) [4A].  During the Vietnam War, the civilian casualty ratio is estimated to have been 2:1 (67%) or lower [4B].

According to the IDF, the civilian casualty ratio in Gaza in December 2023 was 2:1 (67%) [5].  However, it has since been decreasing, and may now to be as low as 1.5:1 (50%) [6][12].

It is noteworthy that the Hamas Health Ministry fails to distinguish between civilians and enemy combatants when reporting casualty figures.  Nor does Hamas acknowledge the casualties it has caused, for instance, by misfired missiles.

The Just War

“They who have waged war in obedience to the divine command, or in conformity with His laws, have represented in their persons the public justice or the wisdom of government, and in this capacity have put to death wicked men; such persons have by no means violated the commandment, ‘Thou shalt not kill.'”

–St. Augustine, “City of God”

St. Augustine was among the first Church Fathers to support the just war theory which can be traced back to the Code of Hammurabi [7][8A].  The theory holds that war — though terrible — may be justified if rigorous criteria are met, both in its inception and conduct.

The Right to Wage War (“Jus ad bellum”)

In simplest terms [8A][9]:

• Only duly constituted states may wage war.  Dictatorships and terrorist organizations like Hamas are considered in violation of this criterion.
• Innocent lives must be in grave danger.
• All non-violent options must be exhausted first.
• The probability of achieving the desired ends should be high.  Large scale violence for its own sake is not justifiable.

Israel met all these criteria.  Hamas met none.

Right Conduct in War (“Jus in bello”)

During conflict [8C][10]:

• War must be directed at enemy combatants, not civilian (though these may be caught in circumstances beyond their control).   Those combatants who have surrendered, been captured or  injured, and do not pose an immediate lethal threat are not to be harmed.  This includes the shipwrecked or those parachuting from disabled aircraft.
• An attack must be made out of military necessity and directed at a legitimate military objective.
• The harm to civilians may not be out of proportion to the advantage to be gained from an attack on such a military objective.
• Combatants may not use evil means or methods such as nuclear or biological weapons or mass rape.
• Prisoners of war must be fairly treated, and may not be tortured or starved.

Israel meets all these criteria.  Meanwhile, Hamas — whose avowed goal is the extermination of Jews from the face of the earth — deliberately attacks civilians; callously uses civilians as human shields; rapes, tortures, and immolates its victims.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Yesterday the United Nations paid lip service to International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  The hypocrisy of that is palpable.

Indeed, staff members of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine are thought to have been involved in the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023 [13].

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[1]  Wikipedia, “Apartheid”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid.

[2]  PBS, “How did genocide become a crime and why is South Africa accusing Israel of committing it?” by Mike Corder of the Associated Press, 1/25/24, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-did-genocide-become-a-crime-and-why-is-south-africa-accusing-israel-of-committing-it.

[3]  CBC, “Israel must take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza, UN court says in temporary ruling” by Thomson Reuters, 1/26/24, https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/icj-decision-south-africa-israel-genocide-1.7095027.

[4A and 4B]  Wikipedia, “Civilian casualty ratio”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_casualty_ratio.

[5]  Substack, Abu Aardvark’s MENA Academy, “Counting casualties in Israel’s war on Gaza” by Marc Lynch, 12/16/23, https://abuaardvark.substack.com/p/counting-casualties-in-israels-war.

[6]  New York Times, “The Decline of Deaths in Gaza” by David Leonhardt, 1/22/24, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/briefing/israel-gaza-war-death-toll.html.

[7]  Wikipedia, “Law of War”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_war.

[8A, 8B, and 8C]  Wikipedia, “Just war theory”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_war_theory.

[9]  Wikipedia, “Jus ad bellum”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_ad_bellum.

[10]  International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “Jus in bello – Jus ad bellum”, 10/29/10, https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/ihl-other-legal-regmies/jus-in-bello-jus-ad-bellum.

[11]  United Nations, “Ninety Per Cent of War-Time Casualties Are Civilians, Speakers Stress, Pressing Security Council to Fulfill Responsibility, Protect Innocent People in Conflicts”,  5/25/22, https://press.un.org/en/2022/sc14904.doc.htm.

[12]  X (Twitter), Col. Richard Kemp, 12/7/23, https://twitter.com/colrichardkemp?lang=en.

[13]  The Guardian, “UN agency head ‘horrified’ that staff joined Hamas attacks – video”, 1/27/24, https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2024/jan/27/un-agency-head-horrified-by-allegation-that-staff-joined-hamas-attacks-video.

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