This strategy constitutes the serious war crimes of using civilians as human shields, as well as intermingling civilian and military facilities. The victims of these war crimes are Palestinian civilians as well as Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The international community condemns Israel for sending its soldiers into these Hamaspitals, even in carefully controlled raids calculated to achieve legitimate military goals. Some U.S. officials and media have also criticized Israel for entering hospitals.

But what should a democratic country that operates under the rule of law do when its enemy violates the most important rule of war that prohibits the use of hospitals for military purposes? Should it simply allow Hamas to continue to use these hospitals to endanger Israeli soldiers and civilians without fear of intervention? Would that not encourage Hamas to continue and perhaps expand its unlawful military exploitation of such medical facilities?