By Steven E. Zipperstein, thinc. Senior Fellow
On October 7, 2023, Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza since June 2007, launched a surprise attack against southern Israel. Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilian targets, and simultaneously invaded Israeli territory from the land, sea and air. The terrorists brutally slaughtered at least 1,200 Israelis and other nationals in a variety of towns and villages. Hundreds of other victims had been enjoying an open-air music festival in the Negev desert.
The terrorists butchered babies, children, women and elderly victims. They severed limbs, burned people alive, tossed hand grenades at unarmed civilians cowering for their lives, raped women, beheaded infants and adults, gouged out eyes, and committed rape, sexual violence, and many other atrocities. Some of the terrorists wore go-pro cameras and livestreamed their savagery on the stolen cellphones of their victims.
Thousands of other victims were wounded, many seriously and critically. The terrorists also kidnapped nearly 250 other victims and took them to Gaza as hostages. Israel responded with a formal declaration of war, striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. This article analyses the terms Self Defense, Necessity and Proportionality in the context of international law in general and the Israel-Hamas War in particular.
We highly recommend to read the full article here: JUSTICE – No. 73
