OCCUPATION, NOT WAR
It is important to understand that this is not a war. Wars are clashes between countries.
Hamas is not a country. Even Palestine is not a country: it is an occupied territory.
Israel is an occupying power.
“The primary responsibility of the occupying power in any occupation is the protection of the protected people under occupation.”
—Michael Lynk, Human Rights Lawyer
Professor Emeritis, University of Western Ontario
Former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Territories
The Gaza strip has been under a blockade since 2006.
The total siege Israel is enforcing now on Gaza is collective punishment, a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention.