Israel Tried to Limit Civilian Casualties

General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Thursday that Israel went to “extraordinary lengths” to limit civilian casualties in the recent war in Gaza, Reuters reports.

 

Dempsey acknowledged recent reports criticizing civilian deaths during the 50-day Gaza war this year but told an audience in New York he thought the Israel Defense Forces “did what they could” to avoid civilian casualties.

 

Dempsey was asked about the ethical implications of Israel’s handling of the Gaza war, during an appearance in New York at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

 

“I actually do think that Israel went to extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties,” Dempsey told the group, according to Reuters.

 

“In this kind of conflict, where you are held to a standard that your enemy is not held to, you’re going to be criticized for civilian casualties,” he added.

 

Dempsey said Hamas had turned Gaza into “very nearly a subterranean society” with tunneling throughout the coastal enclave.

 

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