Casualties

The subject of the casualties in the Taba bombing and the Israeli incursion
into northern Gaza have become the subject of separate stories in the media.
In Sinai the total toll of killed was ca. 32 (possibly up to 35 if some body
parts remain unassigned). Of these "only" 12 were Israelis, and two of
these were killed in Ras-a-Satan. They died en route to the hospital in
Eilat, although they might have died anyway because they both had serious
head wounds. But, it took 7 hours for them to reach the hospital, partly
because they were transported in private cars which were stopped twice by
Egyptian authorities for hours because they had no passports with them!
Some think this was deliberate while others attribute it to the incompetence
of the Egyptians in dealing with a crisis.
This comparatively "low" Israeli casualty rate in the huge destruction of
the Hilton Hotel in Taba has lead to rumors in the Arab world and media that
the bombing was carried out by Israeli agents of the Mossad directed by
Sharon. The argument goes that Sharon needed a distraction from the IDF
incursion in Gaza, and also needed something to blame on the Arabs. In
addition, the Israelis were angry that all the tourists were going to Sinai
and not to Eilat! So he chose a place nearby in Egypt to blow up. Of
course, the Mossad must have known that the floor above the entrance lobby
was occupied mainly by workers at the Hotel, so that the toll of Egyptians
and foreigners (Russians) would be high.
Apart from this nonsense being self-serving for the Arabs, it is a constant
feature of Arab culture that they cannot accept any blame for wrong-doing,
it must be the Jew's fault! This was also the case with the 9/11 WTC
bombings in NYC, and most Arabs still believe that it was carried out by
Jews not Saudis and that's why there were so few Jewish casualties, which is
factually not correct, but try to tell that to an Arab.
In Gaza the toll of Palestinians has been manipulated in an anti-Israel way
by most of the media. For example, perhaps the most extreme case is that of
Agence France Presse that issued a story stating that "Israel's massive
military operation into the northern Gaza Strip shows no sign of a let-up
after two deadly weeks that have seen 111 Palestinians killed, mainly
children, and Qassam rockets still being fired into Israeli territory."
"Mainly children"??? When challenged on this, AFP admitted that it was a
mistake, and changed subsequent reports, but did not issue a correction.
The whole tone of their report is biased against Israel, with no indication
that such actions are justified self-defense. Perhaps because the
initiation of the operation resulted from the death of two Israeli children,
the media have somehow delighted in emphasizing the Palestinian children
killed as opposed to the terrorist casualties.
The IDF reported that 90% of the casualties in Gaza were gunmen/terrorists.
But, many stations, including CNN and BBC, have accepted at face value
unconfirmed reports from Palestinian hospitals and spokesmen that between
20-40% of the casualties were children, notwithstanding the fact that the
IDF is generally more accurate than the Palestinians.
Media focus has been on the unfortunate collateral deaths of two young
girls, one who was sitting in school and was killed by a stray bullet, when
Palestinian gunmen were shooting from nearby. No one has proven that she
was shot by the IDF, but it is assumed. Also, a young girl (13) approached
an Israeli position carrying a bag. She was warned to stop and then shot.
However, the IDF officer then supposedly went to the body and shot her many
times. This is mysterious since she was apparently already dead. Several
soldiers under his command complained about this, since it is against IDF
regulations, and so the officer has been relieved of his command and an
investigation is under way.
It is noteworthy that much more media attention is paid to these incidents
than to the deaths of many Hamas terrorists and the actual outcome of the
operation. Finally, the media like to point out that rockets are still
being fired from Gaza into Israel, as if this indicates that the whole
operation and loss of Palestinian life was unnecessary. No doubt more
Israelis and many more Palestinians will die because the terrorists refuse
to stop their attacks on Israel.