Haviv Rettig Gur
Except Hamas, in its every action and fundamental strategy, does actually do everything possible to maximize civilian death. The debate between us is not over whether this is true, it is over whether it is done intentionally. Sinwar, the “butcher of Khan Younis,” did it intentionally. Every major Hamas leader has taken pride in the death toll and argued that it is the path to Islam‘s redemption. All the rest, the name-calling, the credentialism, the appeal to what “every Gazan knows” which no one can actually check, only demonstrate that you have a real problem here, that this is the most rational and likely interpretation of what they’re doing.
History Speaks
A bunch of hasbarists—@havivrettiggur, @JacobALinker, and other usual suspects—are blatantly lying about my position on Hamas, saying I believe Hamas "cares" about Palestinian civilians. I literally have said the opposite on many occasions, including in the context of the argument I had with Haviv last night, which he and others are citing to say I 'defend Hamas' or whatever. Hamas's glib disregard for the suffering of Palestinian civilians is thoroughly documented and one of the reasons the group is rightly opposed by most People in Gaza. Denying the ludicrous hasbara conspiracy theory—used for whitewashing/atrocity apologetics—that Hamas is actively trying to maximize Palestinian civilian death so as to make Israel look bad, is not the same as claiming they care about Palestinian civilians. Talk to people in Gaza who oppose Hamas and opposed 7 Oct. Basically nobody in Gaza (including the many who oppose Hamas and 10/7) believes your ludicrous conspiracy theory. Nor, by the way, do the large majority of civilian fatalities in Gaza appear to even have anything to do with the militarization of civilian infrastructure by Hamas (a common guerrilla warfare method which is still a war crime, and Israel supporters call "human shields"). You guys and your conspiracy theory are the hasbara versions of Jackson Hinkle talking about the "Hannibal Directive" to try to (absurdly) claim most Israelis killed on 10/7 were killed by ISF.
