HalvarFlakeOct 31, 2023

A quick thread on the intensity of Israel's invasion of Gaza. Language about "precision strikes" can distract from understanding just how intense the aerial campaign was.

Strategic bombing of civilian infrastructure was a staple of the Allied WW2 strategy. The estimated death toll among the civilian population was 350k-500k, on a population of 80m, so about 0.4-0.6% over a period of 3 years.

If the Gaza death toll is ballpark accurate, 8000 deaths on 2m inhabitants is 0.4% in *three weeks*.

Show threadHalvarFlakeOct 31, 2023

Even if you were to discount the official death toll by half we are still speaking about a devastation that took years of bombing in WW2 in 3 weeks.

This is a reminder that *there are no precision strikes in a densely populated city*. While I appreciate Israel's efforts (lawyers overseeing strikes etc), the truth is: If the strategic bombing campaigns of WW2 were terrible, this is the same terrible, at a faster rate.

Show threadG
@HalvarFlake doesn't that depend on what fraction of the alleged 2000 were combatants?
Oct 31, 2023 at 1:08pmWeb
Show threaddr2chaseOct 31, 2023
@stark @HalvarFlake Depends how you define "aligned", doesn't it? You're trying to turn a squishy word into a number. (This is why we often see counts of dead children, to neutralize attempts to make some deaths not matter.)