We have often heard from British Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, who has explained in detail why he considers the IDF to be “the most moral army in the world.” Now John Spencer, an American military expert who teaches at West Point, recently posted on X (formerly Twitter) his own observations on the IDF in Gaza that offer further support for Colonel Kemp’s conclusion. His remarks deserve wide dissemination. More on John Spencer’s observations can be found here: “Israel minimizes civilian casualties more than anyone in history – expert,” Jerusalem Post, January
Israel has done more to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza than any other known army in the world has, John Spencer, who is both chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and a retired US military officer, argued in an extensive thread posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday.
In the thread, Spencer provided multiple examples of precautions that the IDF takes that he argued other armies do not, at least not to the same extent, or even at all. One of the most well-recognized instances of this that he mentioned is the way in which the IDF implements various methods of warning before commencing with an assault against Hamas.
He referred to this in his numerous replies to commentators on his thread. “In some cases, the IDF will call, text, and drop small munitions on the roof of a building,” [the “knock-on-the-roof technique] he explained.
He even addressed some measures that the IDF took at the cost of its tactical advantage to save lives. The army will “provide [a] warning and evacuate urban areas/cities before the full combined air and ground attack begins. While the tactic does alert the enemy defender and provide them the military advantage to prepare further, it is one of the best ways to prevent civilian casualties,” he said.
The thread addresses common criticisms of the IDF’s methodology
Spencer then wrote about the unique complexities of warfare in the Gaza Strip, saying, “No military in modern history has faced 30,000 defenders embedded in more than seven cities, using human shields and hundreds of miles of underground networks purposely built under civilian sites while holding hundreds of hostages and launching over 12,000 rockets at the attacking military’s civilians’ areas.”…
Spencer concluded his post with the following statement: “Again, Israel has implemented more measures to prevent civilian casualties than any other military in the history of war. While some have argued Israel could have waited longer, used different munitions, or not conducted the war at all – [they] all [failed] to acknowledge the context of Israel’s war… [they are overlooking] the hostages, rockets, tunnels, existential threat of Hamas, and more.”…
British Colonel Kemp has been studying the IDF’s performance for years, and has been in Israel, and Gaza, since just after October 7. He reiterates, based on this recent experience, his previous conclusion that the IDF is “the most moral army in the world.”
Now the American John Spencer, a former military officer and now the chair of the department for the study of urban warfare at the Modern War Institute at West Point, explains that “Israel has implemented more measures to prevent civilian casualties than any other military in the history of war.” Who should we believe better comprehends the IDF’s remarkable performance in Gaza — Rashida Tlaib, Bernie Sanders, and Antonio Guterres, or Colonel Richard Kemp and Professor John Spencer?
SKA says
Recently Scott Ritter has been verbally trashing the IDF and claiming Hamas is more professional etc. he seems to hold a grudge against Israel. Anyone know why he would be so alienated?
Kepha says
Granted, the Israelis are pretty surgical.
However, a retired US Army officer I once worked with mentioned how he once had to shepherd a bunch of officers from certain Arab countries on their visit to the US. After this, he said, “My respect for the Israeli military dropped a few stories.”
carpediadem says
Good thing you weren’t in a war zone then.
Can you explain this comment? It means nothing in its current form.
Lyon says
This reads to me more like an indictment of treacherous and completely clueless left-wing Israeli establishment than a praise. There is a reason why nobody does it, and it means you should not do it. Talmud states: “Those who are merciful to the cruel are cruel to the merciful.”
Constance says
+1