Is Israel justified for Gaza’s death toll?

Jan. 27, 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the Jewish liberation in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

It is worth remembering that the Philippines was a haven for 1,300 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. Persecuted Jews were admitted to the country when no other Asian country would, thanks to the humanitarian heart of president Manuel L. Quezon. Fast forward to 1947, the Philippines was the only country in Asia to vote in favor of UN Resolution 181 establishing the State of Israel. The Philippines and Israel have had excellent diplomatic relations for 68 years, which developed into a genuine friendship.

The Oct. 7 massacre carried out by Hamas on the Jewish people reverberated in the Philippines, since four Filipino caregivers were among those brutally murdered. They were: Paul Vincent Castelvi; Loreta Alacre; Angelyn Aguirre, who chose to stay with her elderly patient when Hamas attacked their village, and Grace Cabrera, who courageously protected her 95-year-old patient during the attack. And then there is Gelienor Pacheco, a father of three who was taken hostage and brought to Gaza.

As a response to Hamas’ attacks, the Israeli government launched a military campaign that started with an air bombardment followed by a full-scale ground invasion. For 15 months, Israel waged assaults by land, air and sea to destroy Hamas’ war infrastructure and neutralize its leadership.

Last July 31, Hamas political leader and chief negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in a precision air strike in Tehran. On Oct. 17, Israel also eliminated Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ militant leader said to be the architect of the Oct. 7 attacks.

Since then, Israel proceeded to reduce much of Hamas’ underground infrastructure to rubble. Its weapons were destroyed and/or depleted while the majority of its terrorist fighters were eliminated. Some 42,000 civilians perished in Gaza, according to Hamas’ count.

While all these were happening, Hamas launched a worldwide campaign of disinformation to portray Israel as a perpetuator of genocide. It accused Israel of retaliating in a manner not proportional to what was called for. Hamas’ goal was to deflect blame on the Jews and reaffirm Israel’s right not to exist.

The argument

Let’s not forget that it was Hamas who started this war by breaching Israel’s borders and brutally slaughtering 1,200 innocent Israelis in the most sadistic way. Videos of the atrocities showed Hamas inflicting pain and death with much glee and pathological pleasure. They took 250 hostages and paraded them in the streets of Gaza as the Palestinian people cheered and jeered.

Hamas was on a mission, backed with a strategy that was pure evil. The strategy involved the massacre of as many Israelis as possible, in the most cruel way possible and sequester as many hostages as possible – all to provoke Israel into war. They knew that Israel would respond with fury.

Hamas purposely built its war infrastructure beneath civilian installations like hospitals, schools, residential blocks and mosques. It was a sick ploy to use civilians as shields of war. Hamas wanted to cause enough death and suffering among Palestinians – so much so that it could accuse Israel of genocide through its disinformation campaign. As the world looked at the Palestinians’ plight with pity and indignation, Hamas correctly calculated that world leaders would apply pressure on Israel to back off, allowing the terrorist group to regroup and rearm. With Israel’s hands tied, Hamas could wage horrific attacks on Israel again and again.

For Hamas, the Palestinians are disposable. Hamas has no problem sacrificing Palestinian civilians on the altar of Jihad.

Following the Oct. 7 attacks, Israel had two choices, both with disastrous consequences. The first was to do nothing. In which case, Hamas would get away with its brutal crimes and be free to do it again. The second was to wage war on Hamas to disable them from carrying out such attacks again. After all, Hamas vowed to wage the same attacks on Israel until the Jewish race ceases to exist.

Israel chose the second option. Aside from the need to neutralize Hamas’ capabilities, Israel also had the responsibility to do whatever was humanly possible to free the hostages. Attacking Hamas was the moral thing to do.

Israel pursued its mission according to the rules of war. I distinctly recall how the IDF forewarned Palestinian citizens, through announcements and fliers, to vacate certain areas before they swooped in. Many Palestinians were saved, thanks to the warnings. Yet, many still perished since they were used by Hamas as human shields.

Regardless of the motives, strategies and actions of both parties, the 42,000 death toll is an absolute tragedy. If you ask me, the death count should have been zero if Hamas did not start this war in the first place.

So back to the question. Was Israel’s response proportional, given the circumstances? Is it justified for the Palestinian death toll? In my opinion, they are justified. We must understand that Israel’s response was not predicated solely on the Oct. 7 attack and the 1,200 deaths that resulted from it. It is a response borne out of the threat to annihilate the entire Jewish people.

Hamas showed the brutality it is capable of and the extent it is willing to go to eliminate the Jews from the face of the earth. Israel’s actions were appropriate in the context of this existential threat. Any responsible government would do the same.

The good news is that due to US mediation, Israel agreed to Hamas’ terms on a ceasefire in order to get its hostages back. Although the ceasefire is welcome, this is by no means the end of this war as Hamas retains control over Gaza.

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Email: andrew_rs6@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan