isreal vs gaza conflict

The Pro states that Hamas launches rockets at "isreali" civilians. Let's begin by acknowledging the fact that, ironically, "isreal" is not real. IsRAEL, however, is a real place and we can only assume that is what the Pro meant. That aside, the Pro contends that these rockets are being launched at Israel are "aimed at Israeli civilians", however, these rockets are not exactly aimed at Israeli civilians or the Israeli military for that matter. These rockets, the majority of which are homemade Qassam Rockets, which are unguided rockets propelled by a mixture of sugar and fertilizer. They are notoriously inaccurate and clumsy. Often they fail to detonate on impact, or even land inside the Gaza strip or explode on the launch pad. Rockets which land and detonate in Israel usually land in the desert, far from populated areas. This is not to defend the rocket attacks, but to simply state the facts.The Pro then claims that these rocket attacks are killing Israeli children. However in a ten year period from June 2004 to July 2014, the number of civilians in Israel killed by Rockets fired from Gaza totaled 26, with only 4 of them being minors. Given that in the time period over 7,000 rockets were fired by Palestinian militants, plus more than 3,000 mortars, to say that Palestinian rocket fire posed a great risk to Israeli children would be a gross distortion of the facts.This is the justification the Pro gives as to why Israel "retaliates the way they do." However, these regular attacks on Gaza are actually a strategy used by the Israeli government called "Mowing the Grass", with the intention of making it impossible for Palestinians to build up their infrastructure or economy and keep the administration in Gaza unable to operate with the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank.The Pro then goes on to claim that the IDF makes efforts to avoid civilian casualties, however, this claim by the Pro falls flat, especially in light of testimonies by Israeli soldiers who have exposed that IDF officers told them that "there is no such thing as innocent civilians" and that "You are permitted to shoot at any person you see”. Such instructions completely contradict the claim by the Pro. And when the extremely high number of civilian casualties is considered, the claims of restraint by Israeli forces simply do not add up.Because of this, the Pro claims that the reason for the high civilian casualties is because Hamas forces civilians to stay in dangerous neighborhoods for propaganda purposes. However, this is nothing more than a Demonization strategy with no basis in reality. Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip do not have the option to leave when fighting breaks out, due to the blockade of Gaza by Israel and the sealed borders. Residents are left with nowhere else to go but other places inside the 140.9 Square mile Gaza Strip, which is being bombed (during military operations). The claims by the pro simply do not align with the facts.http://www.washingtoninstitute.org...http://www.nytimes.com...https://www.washingtonpost.com...http://fpif.org...http://www.independent.co.uk...http://www.alternet.org...http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il...