Carl caught this story about how the IDF's humanitarian efforts are exploited by Hamas to increase civilian casualties:

Israel's notifications to civilians in Gaza to leave populated locations before they are bombed are cynically used by Hamas for organizing human shields, a new study says. The study by the Terror and Intelligence Information Center shows that when the IDF warns Arab civilians of an impending attack in their neighborhood, Hamas uses the information in order to organize the civilians into human shields in the hope of protecting the targets from the IDF's wrath. Hamas's de facto prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and other top terrorists, including Nizar Riyan, who was killed in the course of Operation Cast Lead, have publicly boasted of using the warnings as "intelligence" and then using civilians, including women and children, as human shields to protect the homes of terrorists.

Per Alan Dershowitz, this is par for the course:

In a recent incident related to me by the former head of the Israeli air force, Israeli intelligence learned that a family's house in Gaza was being used to manufacture rockets. The Israeli military gave the residents 30 minutes to leave. Instead, the owner called Hamas, which sent mothers carrying babies to the house.

Weird that Dershowitz can see the stakes of the conflict so clearly but - as Dennis Prager just querulously mused about - will still enthusiastically support a political faction that is stridently against Israeli self-defense. I don't mean to be judgmental - political identification among American Jews is the thing. But there has to be a point where reality intrudes and kind of says "come on, guy."

References:
* Shocka: 'Palestinians' using Israeli warnings to 'organize' human shields [Israel Matzav]
* Study: Hamas Uses Israel's Warnings to Prepare Human Shields
* Israel's Policy Is Perfectly 'Proportionate' [WSJ]
* Prager to Dershowitz: How can you still be a liberal? [Hot Air]
* Liberal Think Tanks, Majority Of Democratic Voters Condemn Israeli Self-Defense In Gaza [MR]
* Social Science Confirms: Sheer Stupidity Only Explanation For Democratic Jews (Plus: Joe The Plumber Agrees: "A Vote For Obama Is A Vote For The Death Of Israel") [MR]

Previously:
* Video: Hamas Brags About Using Women And Children As Human Shields
* Video: Hamas Prepares Army Of Women And Children To Be Suicide Bombers During Urban Warfare
* Hamas Forcing Civilians To Stand On Roofs They Know Are About To Be Hit