by John Spencer
A military must balance its operational objectives with humanitarian imperatives, including the prevention of starvation and the protection of civilian life.
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Many things can be true at the same time.
Flooding Gaza with humanitarian aid is the right, moral thing to do. A military must balance its operational objectives with humanitarian imperatives, including the prevention of starvation and the protection of civilian life. A military can restrict the flow of humanitarian supplies if the enemy is diverting them for its own purposes. And it is also true that civilian populations are routinely moved out of combat zones to reduce harm and ensure more effective delivery of humanitarian assistance.
These are all basic truths of war, well established in both military practice and international law.
But there is another truth that must be acknowledged. One that is rarely said out loud, despite being plain and provable: There is no historical precedent for a military providing the level of direct aid to an enemy population that Israel has provided to Gaza.
This aid has taken place:
While the enemy, Hamas, continues to control territory
And while that enemy is still fighting, launching attacks, and holding hostages
Israel is delivering fuel, food, medicine, and water into territory still under the command of the very group that murdered its civilians on October 7, that continues to fire rockets into Israeli towns, and that openly declares it will repeat those atrocities again and again.
There is no precedent for how this should be done
There is no precedent for this. None.Throughout history, wars between nations or between governments and insurgent groups have often involved humanitarian disasters. And in most of those wars, the fighting side does not provide relief to the enemy’s population. In World War II, the Allies provided no aid to German or Japanese civilians while those governments were still fighting and in control of their territory. In Vietnam, the United States never delivered humanitarian assistance to North Vietnamese or Viet Cong–held areas. Even during battles against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, U.S.-backed forces facilitated aid only after clearing territory, not while ISIS still held it.
But Israel is doing what no military has done. It is facilitating direct humanitarian aid to the population of a territory governed by a terrorist army that it is still fighting in close-quarters urban combat.
Whether this fact is recognized or not by the international community, it is a historic first.
At the same time, this war has produced another anomaly. One that should deeply trouble anyone who cares about humanitarian norms. There is no historical precedent to a non-warring party with the sole ability to assist, Egypt, not allowing civilians to flee a war zone.
Egypt has refused to open the Rafah border crossing to allow Gazan civilians to escape, even as active combat, food shortages, and humanitarian collapse have worsened. This is not a case of reluctance by a distant country. This is the only nation that borders Gaza besides Israel. It is not a party to the war. And it is not constrained by law, logistics, or inability. It is constrained only by political choice.
In almost every other modern war, neutral countries have opened their borders to civilians seeking safety. Poland did so during the war in Ukraine. Jordan and Turkey took in millions during the Syrian civil war. Tanzania and Congo (then called Zaire) accepted refugees during the Rwandan genocide. Egypt is doing the opposite. It is keeping the gate closed and leaving civilians trapped while the world blames Israel for what happens inside.
This too is without precedent.
It is easy to criticize Israel for the humanitarian costs of its war. It is much harder to hold Hamas accountable for embedding its fighters in schools, hospitals, and civilian neighborhoods. And harder still to acknowledge when a military is doing something not just legal, but extraordinary.
The truth matters. And the truth is that no military in modern history has delivered more aid to an enemy population during active war than the Israel Defense Forces have to Gaza. That fact stands, regardless of whether anyone wants to say it out loud.
John Spencer is the executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute. He is
the coauthor of Understanding Urban Warfare. Learn more at
www.johnspenceronline.com. Substack: https://www.substack.com/@spencerguard
Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-862533
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