The West must urge Israel to consider restraint as well as retribution

Editorial: Israel has every right to retaliate against its aggressors – but a hasty ground invasion will turn the Gaza conflict into a humanitarian disaster, and then a large-scale refugee crisis

A resident of Gaza City prepares to evacuate following an Israeli warning of increased military operations (EPA)

According to the Israeli defence minister, his country, unlike Hamas, doesn’t shoot civilians. Yoav Gallant has advised residents of Gaza City to evacuate and move elsewhere because the Israel Defence Forces don’t wish to harm them.

The sentiment is laudable in the sense that it stands in stark contrast to the random, unprovoked barbarity of Hamas, which was unleashed a week ago without warning let alone an opportunity for Israeli families to flee to some kind of safety.

Nonetheless, the IDF order, which is what it amounts to, that more than 1 million people move across the country within 24 hours, with nowhere to go and with a shortage of fuel, electricity and water, is simply impossible. The United Nations has declared it so, and common sense suggests it is utterly impractical: imagine the entire population of Birmingham being ordered to depart the city by the end of the following day, but without transportation to help, or shelter to go to. It cannot be done.