Israel has every right, under international law, to attack military targets. And those targets may be attacked even if some civilians will likely be killed, as long as the target is important enough.
International law does not give a formula, but clearly the three Islamic Jihad terrorists killed today were of very high value, and there is no violation of the laws of armed conflict to go after them even if their families are doomed as well.
The best litmus test for proportionality was when NATO bombed a TV/radio station in Serbia, killing 23 civilians and zero militants, when the benefit of the attack was only to take the TV station, part of the military infrastructure, down for a few hours.
A report prepared by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) concluded that ...the TV network had been part of the overall military communication system of the Serbian government, thus making the RTS building a legitimate military target. It said:Insofar as the attack actually was aimed at disrupting the communications network, it was legally acceptable ... NATO’s targeting of the RTS building for propaganda purposes was an incidental (albeit complementary) aim of its primary goal of disabling the Serbian military command and control system and to destroy the nerve system and apparatus that keeps Milošević in powerIn regards to civilian casualties, it further stated that though they were, "unfortunately high, they do not appear to be clearly disproportionate."
Amnesty International knows this law quite well. But it wants so badly to condemn Israel for bombing the terrorists. So it uses the classic propaganda technique of reframing the issue:
Early this morning, Israeli forces launched air strikes on the occupied #Gaza Strip killing at least 13 incl 10 civilians. Like those in 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2022, this deadly attack compounds dire living conditions caused by #Israel’s 16-year-long illegal blockade.Due to recurrent Israeli military operations and the illegal blockade that amounts to collective punishment, two million Palestinians are denied their most basic rights. An entire generation in Gaza has known nothing but death, destruction and deprivation.Palestinians must not continue to be trapped in an open-air prison and prevented from recovering from recurring Israeli offensives. The inhuman acts that #Israel commits against Palestinian civilians in Gaza are part of its apartheid system that must be dismantled.Amnesty is following this recent Israeli offensive and will investigate apparent violations of international law.
Notice how it never says that the bombings are against international law. It says the "blockade" is. This isn't true either - Israel has the legal right to do a naval blockade and it has the right to limit goods that enter Gaza through its own borders, allowing Egypt to send whatever goods it wants. But Amnesty doesn't accept that argument so it falls back on "illegal blockade" of an "open air prison" that includes luxury hotels and shops.
And, of course, Amnesty is using this to keep pushing the "apartheid" lie.
This thread has nothing to do with human rights. It is all part of Amnesty's obsession with demonizing Israel, and using this event as an excuse.
Which is exactly what antisemites would do.
