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US military chief praises Israel’s “extraordinary efforts” to avoid Gaza casualties

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General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday complimented Israel for the lengths it went to in avoiding civilian casualties during Operation Protective Edge in the summer.

The 50-day Gaza conflict saw Israel utilize air, artillery and infantry forces in an attempt to quell persistent rocket fire on southern Israel and to destroy dozens of tunnels designed to launch attacks on Israelis. During the conflict, more than 2,100 Palestinian died, many of whom were combatants. Meanwhile, 72 Israelis lost their lives, including six civilians.

Speaking yesterday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in New York City, Dempsey said “I actually do think that Israel went to extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties.” Listing some of the measures taken by Israel during the conflict, including dropping leaflets to forewarn of operations and firing harmless warning shots in advance, Dempsey said “they did some extraordinary things to try and limit civilian casualties, to include … making it known that they were going to destroy a particular structure.”

Dempsey added, “In this kind of conflict, where you are held to a standard that your enemy is not held to, you’re going to be criticized for civilian casualties.” Indeed, Dempsey’s comments contrast with a report released this week by Amnesty International which claims that some Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip during Operation Protective Edge could be considered “war crimes.” The report though, which examines eight cases, was not based on any consultation with the IDF over military objectives to the incidents in question.

Dempsey also revealed yesterday that an American military delegation of senior and non-commissioned officers visited Israel three months ago in order to learn lessons from the way Israeli forces conducted Operation Protective Edge. He said this included “the measures they [Israel] took to prevent civilian casualties and what they did with tunnelling,” which became a major part of the operation.