All wars are tragic. The Middle East manages to be even more so, a combination of dense population, scarce resources and conflicts with roots that go back centuries or even millennia.
The most recent development, a warning from Israel that civilians should evacuate from northern Gaza in the next twenty-four hours, countered by a Hamas advisory to stay put, is a stark reminder that wars can easily become "choose your humanitarian disaster." Israel's army is coming across the border; it's only a matter of time. People -- civilians and militants alike -- are packed into Gaza nearly as densely as in New York City and there's only one exit point to the south: you can't march half of Gaza's 2.3 million people out in a day, doubling the density in the southern half of the area is unworkable and anyone who stays home is in the path of an invading army. Nor are there financial resources to help people get out of the way; per-capita income in Gaza is under $3800, compared to $75,000 in NYC.
On the other hand, in the last 22 years there have been zero missiles launched from the Big Apple, while Gaza has averaged over a thousand a year. Plenty of bad actors (Iran, for example) are willing to supply the hardware and it only takes a few people to set up and launch a missile. Responding in kind can be complicated.
No matter how this plays out, people are going to die. Most of them will be innocent civilians, caught in a war they never volunteered to fight. Hamas is using them as a shield. Israel is reluctant to do harm, but under conditions of open warfare after recent attacks, they don't see any other way forward.
After Hamas gunmen shot and beheaded children, I suspect there is far fewer qualms in Israel about the death toll among Palestinian civilians than there has been in the past. From what I can glean, "make Gaza flat" is not an uncommon sentiment.
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