Obama Says Israel Has Right to Defend Itself But Warns Military Strategy That Ignores Human Cost Could Backfire

Former president acknowledges the “enormously difficult task,” as “Hamas’ military operations are deeply embedded within Gaza.”

Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at an event held by the Obama Foundation at the Javits Center in New York City on Nov. 17, 2022. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Former President Barack Obama has reiterated his stance that Israel has a right to defend itself but warns that “any military strategy that ignores” the loss of civilian lives in Gaza could backfire for Israel and its allies.

In a new Oct. 23 post shared on Medium, his second since the start of the conflict, President Obama called the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas “horrific,” and applauded America’s stance of rightly declaring “solidarity with the Israeli people.”

The initial attack by Hamas and ongoing rocket launches from Gaza have left at least 1,400 Israeli soldiers and civilians dead. Ongoing retaliation air strikes on Hamas targets by Israel have reportedly killed over 5,000 soldiers and civilians, and wounded at least another 14,000.

However, Israel’s military believes that Hamas could bear some of the responsibility for the deaths in the Gaza Strip, with at least 550 of the terrorist group’s approximately 7,000 rocket launches misfiring and landing inside the Gaza strip, adding to the destruction.

President Obama says Israel has “a right to defend its citizens against such wanton violence,” he fully supports going after Hamas and “dismantling its military capabilities,” while also demanding that Hamas safely return the hostages it has taken.

At least 210 people, including 30 children, have been captured from Israel and taken into Gaza. Hamas has released its first four hostages. The elderly husbands of two of the four hostages remain in Hamas captivity.

However, the former president also warns that even as we support Israel, Israel Defence Force (IDF) strikes against Hamas must follow international law and limit civilian casualties. President Obama did not take the opportunity to hold Hamas to the same requirements—perhaps because such cannot be expected of the terrorist group.

The former president emphasized that doing so is an “enormously difficult task,” noting that military operations “often put civilians at risk.”

President Obama served two terms as U.S. president between 2009 and 2017. According to reports logged by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, between 384 and 807 civilians were killed as a result of strikes in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen during his time in office. The 563 strikes in these nations were conducted primarily by drones. Strikes in other regions such as Syria, Iraq, and Libya were not included in the data.

Adhering to International Law Crucial for Israel’s Security

President Obama said that following international law is essential because of its morality, importance in building alliances, and shaping international opinion, all of which he says are critical for Israel’s long-term security.

Israel is still urging Gazan civilians to evacuate south of Gaza City away from Hamas locations and hideouts. An estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced in Gaza. Around 200,000 people have also been displaced in Israel. Hamas has been accused of blocking Palestinian civilians from leaving the war zone.

“The world is watching closely as events in the region unfold, and any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs could ultimately backfire,” President Obama said.

“It’s therefore important that those of us supporting Israel in its time of need encourage a strategy that can incapacitate Hamas while minimizing further civilian casualties.”

Israel has undertaken a “complete siege” on the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip since Oct. 9, cutting off the electricity, water, food, and fuel that enter Gaza from its territories. Aid has been entering Gaza from the southern Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Sky News on Sunday that it was not Israel who was responsible for the complete severing of power to the Gaza Strip. “That’s part of the distorted information. It was Hamas missiles which broke down the electricity infrastructure in Gaza,” he said.

Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant meets soldiers on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip in Sderot, Israel, on Oct. 19, 2023. Amir Levy/Getty Images

IDF reserve Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus recently highlighted Israel’s supply of water to Gaza only amounted to about 10 percent or less, and called it “a bit absurd that we are asked to provide sustenance to the very same enemy that is trying to kill us,” adding that Hamas is known for ”a cynical abuse of humanitarian aid” that prioritizes its needs over that of Gazan civilians.

President Obama is concerned that, despite Israel’s urgent calls for Gazans to evacuate south out of harms way as it increases military operations in the north, Israel’s efforts to neutralize Hamas in Gaza could “worsen a growing humanitarian crisis,” further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode support for Israel, and undermine long-term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.

Israel has allowed Egypt and other nations to organize humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing, which President Obama called an “encouraging step,” but he urged for accelerating critical aid and supplies to an “increasingly desperate Gaza population.”

Lasting Peace Will Require Agreement Among Leaders

The former president wants the international community to continue to engage with the Palestinian leaders who recognize Israel’s “right to exist,” to search for a peaceful solution to the geopolitical territorial dispute.

In the past, a two-state solution has been proposed, establishing two states for the people of the two communities: Israel for the Jewish people and Palestine for the Palestinian people. Despite attempts in this direction, it has yet to materialize.

President Obama also called for rejecting anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiments, and not lumping in all Palestinians with Hamas or other terrorist groups, while also recognizing that Israel has every right to exist.

Protests both in support of Israel and Palestine have been taking place all over the world, leading to division and rising tensions among the populace over which side in the conflict is more at fault.

“In dealing with what is an extraordinarily complex situation where so many people are in pain and passions are understandably running high, all of us need to do our best to put our best values, rather than our worst fears, on display,” President Obama said.

“It means rejecting efforts to minimize the terrible tragedy that the Israeli people have just endured, as well as the morally-bankrupt suggestion that any cause can somehow justify the deliberate slaughter of innocent people.”

People mourn by the coffins of five members of the Kutz family who were killed in a Palestinian terrorists attack on their kibbutz of Kfar Aza, during their funeral in Gan Yavne town in central Israel, on Oct. 17, 2023. Oren Ziv/AFP via Getty Images

“Perhaps most of all, it means we should choose not to always assume the worst in those with whom we disagree,” President Obama said.

“If we care about keeping open the possibility of peace, security and dignity for future generations of Israeli and Palestinian children, as well as for our own children, then it falls upon all of us to at least make the effort to model, in our own words and actions, the kind of world we want them to inherit,” he added.

Officially known as the State of Israel, the country has existed since 1948. The groundwork for Israel was laid many years prior, though, with the Balfour Declaration, a declaration by the British government to the establishment of Palestine as a national home for the Jewish people.

Palestinians have lived in disputed territories ever since; many were displaced when Israel was formed and continue to be forcibly ejected by a settler movement.

Hamas denies Israel’s right to exist, and opposes Israeli occupation of territories it claims are part of the region it describes as Palestine. It advocates for establishing an Islamic state by any means, including violence.