It is also a major tactic by Hamas to sway public opinion by people that know no better. One that has been admitted too for decades. Hamas struck first with a terrible atrocity, they knew what would happen yet they did it anyway. It is on their hands that the blood drips from.
Calling people human shields because they are in their own home as a pretense to bomb them is a war crime.
If a terrorist holds a baby, do you shoot the baby? Well, Israel would be ready to shoot a handful just to kill one person slightly affiliated with Hamas*.
Here is an article where IDF shot a woman and child with any kind of warning of military activity in the area. Worse yet there were no Hamas belligerentsin the area.
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children…
-President Eisenhower in his ‘chance for peace’ speech
The title makes it sound like Hamas is shooting Israel's bombs back at Israel, but Hamas' arsenal are primarily of Iranian origin. The article reports that they do scavenge explosives from unexploded ordinance, but not the amount. However, they do take large amounts of scrap like plumbing pipes from Israeli settlements, which are used to make bombs.
I'm not an explosives expert but I would hazard a guess that scavenging missiles and such that don't go off is not going to be a viable source of material to make more missiles, factoring in the risk involved.
The oft-repeated idea that Iran supplies the majority of Hamas weapons is also poorly sourced. It is usually attributed to the CIA’s World Factbook or former US generals who now are talking heads for think tanks. These sources are highly biased.
But one thing that has been well documented is the Hamas unexploded ordinance team. They have over a decade of experience disarming and retrieving Israeli bombs from Gazan homes and businesses.
Sorry I didn’t want to write an essay, but you’re right, I should have provided more.
I think it’s obvious the Medium article is poorly sourced- there are no links, no quotes, and no attribution whatsoever. Compare it to a write up like Hamas Recycling Unexploded Ordinance in Gaza, which tells the exact same story but it comes with links and quotes, and it names the source as Michael Cardash, the former deputy head of the Israeli National Police Bomb Disposal Division.
As for the Iranian connection, I know I’m going against popular opinion, but I made my claims clear and anyone can try to disprove me.
A quick Google search shows many articles on the bomb disposal unit and tactics inside Gaza dating back to at least 2012. The Inevitable Rearmament of Hamas (2021) gives a good analysis. An even better source for this is the al-Qassam Brigade’s youtube, they post raw war footage including bomb disposal. Unfortunately I dont speak Arabic so I wasnt able to find a specific video.
I see no sources, but I’m an internet armchair activist with no prior knowledge of the subject, nor any in the field, and the confidence and words in which you described your position have convinced me and won me over. You’ve won this internet argument and have my vote.
And this is why I don’t read the article, there’s no point. Kind strangers like you will do it for me. Read the material, digest it, and give me the important parts up front. That’s what I love about forums like Reddit and Lemmy. Someone* else more educated on the subject will confidently explain what I need to know and give me my opinion directly. It makes 1., being an internet activist like myself, and 2., being an informed adult, so much easier.
Edit: to break the fourth wall here, though, I’m more making fun of myself and the environment than anyone else, especially anyone else in particular. So, if you feel a little guilty, then self awareness is good. But, if you feel like I’m throwing serious shade at you or your friends… that’s not the intent, but again self awareness is good.
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