Thread

1. bognition · 1790616426 · focus · HN ↗

   Its really telling to see the destruction limited to where the structures used to be rather than to all of the surrounding green spaces. If the destruction of civilian dwellings was purely an accident you'd expect to see the destruction spread evenly over the area. Instead it looks much more like a prolonged set of surgical strikes to destroy the buildings while preserving as much of the surrounding areas as possible.

   For a great example of this, look at this pin <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;ZcMbdFcx87PrqoYNA" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;ZcMbdFcx87PrqoYNA

   And here&#x27;s a pin of where the farms were spared <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;iZbbTH4iH27FCz4s9" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;iZbbTH4iH27FCz4s9

   1. biimugan · 1790619643 · focus · HN ↗

      I don&#x27;t quite understand your argument here. In your first pin I&#x27;m struggling to find a single building that isn&#x27;t leveled, or at least severely damaged. Even buildings far away from the city center in the boonies are leveled.

      1. cogman10 · 1790637175 · focus · HN ↗

         They are saying that this is genocidal destruction. In a war sometimes civilian infrastructure is hit as collateral. But here, all infrastructure is destroyed and it&#x27;s clear this wasn&#x27;t done by 1 or 2 errant bombs but rather because of direct targeting. It can&#x27;t be argued to be an accident because in farmland you see no bombs which hit the farmland by mistake. In other-words, this is entirely purposeful.

         1. rbanffy · 1790645192 · focus · HN ↗

            A war requires at least two militaries. This is what happens when a well armed military engages a mostly unarmed civilian society unable to mount significant opposition.

            1. torton · 1790649958 · focus · HN ↗

               &quot;Before the October 7, 2023 attacks, the total size of Hamas’s military wing (the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades) was estimated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and intelligence agencies to be between 25,000 and 30,000 fighters, with some intelligence assessments placing the upper limit as high as 40,000. This army was organized into five regional brigades and 24 battalions.&quot;

               &quot;Hamas&#x27;s military force prior to October 7, 2023, was roughly 3 to 4.5 times larger than the United States military when measured as a percentage of their respective total populations.&quot;

               1. choo-t · 1790665445 · focus · HN ↗

                  No link to a source ?

                  Anyway, IDF as ≈170k active duty personnel and 465k reservists[1]. Literally a different order of magnitude. Add to it the vast different of resources, access to an air force and nuclear weapons and it become even more clearer that there is no comparison possible.

                  (And comparing personnel count to the USA is laughable as it is vastly different military type. Both a fighter jet pilot and a foot soldier count as one personnel, but it&#x27;s neither the same force projection nor the same investment of civilians working for the war machine).

                  1: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;eu.usatoday.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;graphics&#x2F;2023&#x2F;10&#x2F;14&#x2F;idf-explainer-on-israeli-defense-forces-idf&#x2F;71133855007&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;eu.usatoday.com&#x2F;story&#x2F;graphics&#x2F;2023&#x2F;10&#x2F;14&#x2F;idf-explai...

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.