HaRav Shlomo Aviner is Head of Yeshivat Ateret Yerushaliyim.
Q: There are estimates that more than 70,000 people were killed in Gaza and 90% of the homes were destroyed. Some people justify this by saying that all the residents of Gaza are Hamas murderers.
A: That is not accurate. There are four circles there.
A. The fighting circle - Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, numbering in the tens of thousands. They certainly must be eliminated.
B. The assisting circle - Those who hide weapons in their homes, provide intelligence, and also those who distributed sweets and celebrated on the day of the massacre. This constitutes a very large part of the population.
C. The captive/silent circle - People who oppose Hamas or simply want to live, but exist under a murderous terrorist regime. If they speak out against Hamas in Gaza, their punishment is death. Therefore, it is difficult to hear their voices.
D. The circle of children - They mainly undergo murderous indoctrination, but at present one cannot decide that a small child deserves death.
In summary, it is impossible to unequivocally declare that everyone there is a murderer. But there was certainly no genocide.
Q: Why didn’t the opponents to Hamas leave, as happened in Germany?
A: In Germany as well, there were people who could not tolerate the Nazi regime, but they lacked the power to resist or to leave, and so it is in Gaza. Exit through Egypt was closed. Refuge in Israel is out of the question. And Hashem didn’t open the sea for them. Additionally, they are poor and cannot bear the financial cost of emigration.
Q: Have we done something immoral considering the great loss of life amongst the residents of Gaza?
A: No. They attacked us. There was no choice. We are defending ourselves. Our army is the Israel Defense Forces.
Q: Perhaps we should have fought more carefully?
A: The enemy is extremely cruel and murderous. If we behave toward it with restraint, this will open the door for them to commit terrible acts again.
Q: Still, innocent civilians were killed.
A: One cannot endanger soldiers in order not to endanger civilians. Certainly we prefer not to kill civilians, and indeed we did everything possible not to, but if we must decide between the lives of enemy civilians and the lives of our soldiers, morality dictates preserving the lives of our soldiers. In addition, they used the civilian population as human shields. They positioned themselves in hospitals, in schools, and in children’s bedrooms. They are responsible for those who were killed. They are the immoral ones, not the Government of Israel and it army.
Q: If so, should we rejoice over those who were killed there?
A: Regarding the murderers and their helpers, we may rejoice. But regarding innocent people and children, we should not rejoice. We would have preferred that nothing happen to them. We do not go to war out of a desire to kill, but in order to eradicate evil, and thank God, we are succeeding greatly.
[Questions by Rabbi Mordechai Tzion]