EDITORIAL: Hamas rocket launch sites near mosques, schools

A few days after releasing two American hostages, Hamas freed two elderly female Israeli captives on Sunday. But 230 more innocent civilians — including 10 Americans — remain in the terrorist group’s hands.

CNN also reports that the United States is “seeking to delay an Israeli ground offensive in hopes of getting more hostages out and aid into Gaza, according to two sources briefed on discussions.” Ensuring the safety of innocents in captivity and providing humanitarian aid to the suffering are worthwhile goals. But ultimately, it is up to Israeli officials to choose their preferred course of action in response to the brutal and murderous attack of Oct. 7.

Israel is not dealing with a traditional modern enemy. Hamas makes it a policy to target Israeli civilians — hence the hostages — and will casually sacrifice Palestinian lives by provoking retaliation. On Monday, the Israeli Defense Forces released satellite images of Hamas rocket launch sites near schools, mosques and civilian buildings.

According to the Daily Mail, two sites “were located a stone’s throw away from each other, one in the garden of a mosque, and another mere feet away from a kindergarten. A third was seen across the road from a UN building in Gaza and a fourth was located opposite the Manfaluti Secondary School for Boys.”

This is a calculated effort to put children and others in harm’s way for propaganda purposes.

“Geolocation of the images provided by the IDF confirmed the locations given were correct,” the Daily Mail noted, “and analysts pointed out that previous satellite images taken in September did not show any launch sites — suggesting that they would have been recently constructed.”

Hamas wants to pin civilian casualties on the Israelis, yet seeks without remorse to harm noncombatants. While Israel takes pains to minimize the deaths of innocents, Hamas indiscriminately shoots rockets into Israel and reacts to deaths with glee. Let’s never forget who is responsible for the 1,400 Israelis who were savagely murdered two weeks ago.

Since the Oct. 7 terrorist incursion, Hamas has fired thousands of rockets into Israel, many from these civilian locations, putting those nearby at risk. This abominable tactic of hiding behind the innocent appears to have resulted in scores of deaths when a rocket launched from Gaza exploded prematurely near a hospital last week. Hamas tried to blame Israel for the deaths.

Those who engage in moral relativism when it comes to this conflict are toiling in the service of evil. Israel has the right to defend itself against those who overtly seek its destruction. The back-channel negotiations for humanitarian aid and the release of hostages should continue, but Israel’s looming ground invasion remains wholly justified.