To the editor:

Readers of the Journal-World, please realize that you are receiving a one-sided view of the Israeli military actions in Gaza. For example, articles printed in the Journal-World keep mentioning the civilian deaths on each side. The number of Palestinian deaths is higher than the number of Israeli deaths, but there is a reason for the difference, which is never cited in the articles.

The terrorist group Hamas stores its weaponry and ammunition in hospitals, schools and mosques. Its militants hide out in private homes. In spite of the fact that Israel warns Palestinian civilians at least 30 minutes ahead of time when it is planning to bomb, these warnings are either ignored, or maybe innocent people have no safe place to hide.

Hamas seems to have plenty of money to spend on its rockets and terrorist activities, but what does it spend on infrastructure such as bomb shelters for its people? In contrast, Israel has bomb shelters all over the country and every home is required to have a “safe room” where residents can go when the sirens go off. Israelis don’t get warnings from Hamas that bombs are coming, and in some areas they only have about 15 seconds to get to safety.

So the difference in civilian casualties is due to the fact that Israel has established safe havens for her people and would never put military operations near the civilian population. Hamas, on the other hand, is cynically sacrificing its civilian population to win support for its mission to destroy Israel.

Estra Grant,
Lawrence