Sderot - Bomb Shelter Capital of the World

Over 14,000 rockets and mortars have been launched at Southern Israel from Gaza. Each of those rockets constitutes a war crime and was meant to murder, to maim, and to terrorize the civilian population of Israel.

In spite of the bombardment of rockets from Gaza, the Israeli casualty rate has been, up to now, fairly low.
Israel has invested millions of dollars in infrastructure to keep its people safe. An early warning system gives residents of Southern Israel a 15 second alert when a rocket has been fired- that can mean the difference between life and death for many. It is also available as a smart phone app. Iron Dome, a mobile missile defense system can shot rockets down before they have a chance to cause mass casualties. And in areas under threat,  Israel has built a comprehensive system of bomb shelters-  at bus stops, in playgrounds, and every where that people gather.

Via Huff Post Sderot - Bomb Shelter Capital of the World

A photo essay of the bomb shelters of Sderot.

Israel invests money in infrastructure to keep its civilian population safe.

Hamas? They have very different priorities.

 

General Martin Dempsey: Israel has gone to "extraordinary lengths" to limit civilian casualties in Gaza

Several months ago,  at an appearance in New York at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs Army General Martin Dempsey, the highest-ranking US military officer  and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared that Israel  had gone to "extraordinary lengths" to limit civilian casualties in the war with Gaza .

Israel has faced unrelenting criticism for civilian deaths during the conflict. Over than 2,100 Palestinians were reportedly killed.

Recent research from the Meir Amit  Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center suggest that suggest that terrorist operatives constitute about 52% of the fatalities who have been identified, and non-involved civilians constitute approximately 48%. This ratio may vary in the future, as more information is uncovered.

As of the last report, 

* 528 of those killed in Gaza in Operation protective Edge were terrorist operatives.

* 480 of those killed were non-involved civilians.

* 157 of those killed are unidentified at this stage. 

An earlier analysis of  Gaza deaths during Operation Protective Edge indicated that over:

80% of Gazans killed so far have been male, with almost half of these males being in the 18-28 age group. One can imagine many of these being “combatants.” A further 20% of these males are between 29 and 48, an age group one could envisage may also contain many Hamas members.

If Israel were deliberately targeting civilians, the gender ratio would be significantly closer to 50/50.

For those in need of a refresher course: Operation Protective Edge by the numbers:


For 50 days, armed groups in Gaza fired 4,564 projectiles at Israel.
3,659 rocket and mortar impact sites were found
Of those that struck in Israel, 224 hit built-up areas.
735 were shot down by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
197 “failed launchings” – projectiles that never left the Gaza Strip or that did not launch at all.

In spite of hostilities, humanitarian aid continued to flow to Gaza

959 tons of medicine and medical supplies entered the Strip 
5,359 trucks carrying goods entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

What has Hamas done to Minimize Civilian Casualties?

What has Hamas done to minimize civilian casualties? Absolutely nothing.

What has Israel done to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza?  Its gone to extraordinary lengths.

During Israel's  Pillar of Defense operation  there were over 1500 Israeli military strikes on terror targets in Gaza.  An additional one third  were cancelled when it was felt they could not be executed  safety without  causing  civilian deaths. While all deaths are tragic,  less were killed in a week of hostilities in Gaza than were killed in a day in Syria.  In fact, since 1948, less Arabs have been killed by Israel than were killed by Syria, in one year.  

The IDF did everything it could to minimize civilian deaths , concentrating their activities on  weapons manufacturing and storage facilities, underground rocket launchers,  weapons smuggling tunnels and top-ranking Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists including

• Ahmed Jabari, head of Hamas’ military wing 
• Hab’s Hassan Us Msamch, senior operative in Hamas’ police 
• Ahmed Abu Jalal, Commander of the military wing in Al-Muazi 
• Khaled Shaer, senior operative in the anti-tank operations 
• Osama Kadi, senior operative in the smuggling operations in the southern Gaza Strip 
• Muhammad Kalb, senior operative in the aerial defense operations
• Ramz Harb, Islamic Jihad senior operative in propaganda in Gaza City