Barak Shine / 바락 샤인 / バラク・シャイン / 巴拉克 🇮🇱

Diplomat @IsraelMFA. Deputy Chief of Mission @IsraelinKorea. Asian cultures fan, previously served in 🇯🇵&🇨🇳

[Barak Shine / 바락 샤인 / バラク・シャイン / 巴拉克 🇮🇱 @BarakShine]

**Special announcement** 📢

特別なお知らせです📢

[Board of Peace @BoardOfPeace]

UNRWA has no place in the new Gaza. We are turning the page on the complex of perpetual aid dependency & conflict. The people of Gaza deserve better.

[Oren Marmorstein @OrenMarmorstein]

The former General Manager of Sky News in Arabic:
“Over 17 years, between 2006 and 2023, Israel killed almost no Lebanese civilians, while Hezbollah and its backers killed more than 800 Lebanese.
Hezbollah is the problem, and it always has been.”

[Israel Foreign Ministry @IsraelMFA]

It's official: Even The Committee to Protect Journalists @pressfreedom admits it.

Gaza "Journalists" = Hamas & Palestinian Islamic Jihad Terrorists
https://t.co/trIW2zut04

[i24NEWS English @i24NEWS_EN]

Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, turned the Security Council debate into a quiz when he presented a series of pictures to the council members and asked: "Terrorist or journalist?", "UNRWA worker or Nukhba commander?"

[Hillel Neuer @HillelNeuer]

L: UNESCO chief @AAzoulay condemns killing of “journalist Mohammed Abu Armana.”

R: Hamas posts Mujahid Martyr video of “Platoon Commander” Mohammed Abu Armana. “If you are watching this, it means I passed into the mercy of Allah. To the al-Qassam Brigades: By Allah, we will not betray this blood.”

[Nuseir Yassin @nasdaily]

This country drinks the ocean

From 0% to 80% of the country drinking from the ocean in just 20 years. This is the story!

[Hillel Neuer @HillelNeuer]

L: Reem Alsalem justifies her refusal to report on Ilana Gritzewsky and other Israeli women assaulted by Hamas, saying, “We cannot rely on media statements only.”

R: Reem Alsalem condemns Israel relying on the Hamas flotilla's media statement only. “As per their press release.”

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

“They are killing enormous numbers of civilians…they are targeting one, two, three enemy combatants and in the process killing huge numbers of civilians. @piersmorgan Piers a few minutes later – “If you can’t say exactly how many civilians have been killed in Gaza, what you say about numbers is bull.”

Dear @piersmorgan I tried to explain to you where numbers in the Gaza war (or any war) are going to come from "simply.” But let me type it out so you have a record of it instead of the interruptions and the tactic of just asking the same question over and over while I explain how the numbers work. The same numbers by the way that you used minutes before to criticize Israel and constantly repeat or have guests on that repeat, or more often state not even Hamas numbers but false numbers about xx civilians, xx women, xx children, xx percentages that go beyond Hamas's actual list of casualties.

First, let me correct you again (like I did to start the segment) by providing you my actual quotes:

1 - "Israel and the IDF have implemented more measures (sometimes quoted as precautions) to prevent civilian harm in urban warfare than any military in history,"

That is testable against urban warfare history of any similar situation (mostly attack of defended urban terrain). Israel civilian harm mitigation measure have included advance notification (flyers, phone calls, text messages, voicemails, drones with speakers, tv, radio, social media), safe corridors to include improving roads used for safe corridors in the middle of the war, roof knocking (notifying all residents of a building in advance for evacuations and then using non-penetrating low-yield munitions on top of the building before then waiting to strike), over daily multi-hour pauses in fighting (over 400 days of the 800 days of fighting) to allow civilian evacuations and aid movement, establishing a one-star commanded civilian harm mitigation cell that created a real time civilian presence (using cell phone presence, drones, satellite images, etc.) software reflected on all combat operating systems, handing out their own military maps to the entire population (to include the enemy) and then communicating the location of IDF operations, areas to avoid or further evacuate, using major call outs of buildings and neighborhoods, restrictive rules of engagement based on likely civilian presence, rigorous fires processes and legal reviews that often ended in calling mission off out of civilian harm estimates. Many of these measures have never been attempted, by any military.

2 - "Israel has a lower civilian to combatant ratio than any similar context (war or battle) in the history of urban warfare.” After acknowledging the lack of comparative cases (size of enemy forces (which I asked you about, you don't know), tunnels, density, strategy, tactics, prevention of civilian evacuations) but still doing the simple analysis, in order to provide the evidence for this statement I use the same numbers you and your frequent guests push to condemn Israel. But here:

Q: How do you estimate the number of civilians deaths?

A: Take the number the Hamas Gaza Health Ministry reports (despite that it includes any death in Gaza for any reason or cause (Israel/Hamas/Other terrorists) and has been well documented with inaccuracies (even having to be updated by Hamas of natural deaths, incomplete entries, false entries) and subtract the Israel stated combatant deaths.

The Hamas Gaza Health Ministry claims roughly 72,000 deaths in Gaza. The IDF says it has killed about 25,000-26,000 combatants, a number also reported by President Trump in October 2025. If you subtract 25,000 from 72,000, even using Hamas’s number at face value, you get roughly 47,000 non-combatant deaths, or a bit less than a 2:1 ratio. If you were modest to adjust for natural deaths and Hamas-caused deaths, is likely closer to 35,000–40,000 non-combatant deaths versus 25,000 combatants killed, which puts the ratio closer to 1.5:1.

If you compare 2:1 or 1.5:1 to any numbers we have (in many cases we don’t have) for wars, urban centric wars, contested urban battles they will be some of the lowest ratios (in some cases lowest by far) ever seen despite none of those wars or battles had the context of Gaza. For example:

World War II – 70 million civilians, 20 million combatants, 3.5:1
Korean War – 2.5 million civilians, 90,000 combatants, 27:1
Iraq War – 280-300,000 civilians, 150-200,000 combatants, 1.4:1 to 2:1

But wait, the Gaza numbers are usually aggregated numbers for the entire war, any death ever reported in Gaza.

But if you disaggregate the numbers to specific battles like Rafah, Khan Yunis, Gaza City 2025 for comparison you get different numbers. Based on modest numbers from the Battle of Rafah, the civilian to combatant ratio would be more like 1:100 due to multiple operational variables like the success of civilian evacuations.

Major urban battles (modest comparison of battles with any like variables).

Mosul – 10,000 civilians. Combatant unknown but total estimate in battle 5,000 – 2:1
Manila – 100,000 civilians. Combatants 17,000 – 6:1
Seoul – Unknown/no record of civilian but very likely high ratio based on histories
Mariupol – Unknown/mass graves, estimate 20-22,000 civilians, 3-8,000 combatants - 2.5:1 to 7.3:1

I actually use this discussion about numbers or quote about ratio sparingly despite how many times it has been attribute to me because I know the complexity of casualty counting especially in urban centric wars with combatants that violate the law of war and do not distinguish themselves (uniforms/marking) making determining a body found (if there is a body) or a name reported (such as methods in Gaza) and then classifying that person as was participating in the hostilities (combatant) or not (noncombatant) is beyond just difficult and should always be viewed as questionable. In Mosul, a year after the battle there was not only no agreed upon casualty number, but the Mayor of the city also said there were 40,000 civilian deaths. These numbers are always messy, political, susceptible to manipulation by the different organizations involved.

My point has always been that numbers of casualty reporting in Gaza doesn’t paint the story people routinely push. Actually, the opposite.

Urban warfare is inherently and historically costly against civilians and the infrastructure. All wars involve noncombatant death. The moral, legal requirement is to do proportionality assessments and take feasible steps to prevent excessive civilian harm.

So, using your logic Piers, if you can’t state how many combatants were killed (by Israel, Hamas, terrorist rockets, other terrorists in power struggles) … you can’t say (or allow your guests to say) Israel has killed a “large number of civilians” or “killed a disproportionate number of civilians” like you did in this very interveiw.

You can't spend years saying Israel is killing enormous numbers of civilians and then tell me nobody can estimate civilian deaths so ratios aren't valid. Those two positions can't both be true.

If casualty estimates are reliable enough to accuse Israel, then they're also reliable enough to examine civilian-to-combatant ratios. If they aren't, then they shouldn't be used selectively only when they support one conclusion.

[Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter @yechielleiter]

On behalf of Prime Minister @netanyahu, the State of Israel, and the Israeli government, I extend our gratitude to the U.S. administration.

Under the leadership of president @realDonaldTrump, and @SecRubio - we are on the track toward security and peace between Israel and Lebanon.

Today’s signing says loud and clear: both our people’s want peace, and Iran and its terror proxy, Hezbollah, won’t get in the way of achieving it.

The sovereign governments of Israel and Lebanon will decide the fate of our people, and shape the future of our countries, not the mullahs of Teheran.

[Eylon Levy @EylonALevy]

“Please look at me,” begs a survivor of the Hamas Rapist Regime.

But UN “expert” @UNSRVAW Reem Alsalem won’t give her that basic dignity.

There’s no humanity in the UN Human Rights Council.

[UN Watch @UNWatch]

Guess who just blocked UN Watch?

None other than U.N. “human rights expert” Reem al-Salem.

⭕️ She can't handle hearing October 7 survivors.
⭕️ She can't handle us asking why she took $170,000 from Saudi Arabia and other misogynistic regimes.
⭕️ She can't handle the truth.

[Moshe @IsraelIDFend]

Whoever made this deserves an AI award.
MUST WATCH‼️

[Waleed Gadban @GadbanWaleed]

Facts about Israel make the @UN uncomfortable 🇺🇳

[Aizenberg @Aizenberg55]

@BBCWorld This so-called UN "report" is lacking one important factor: evidence. There is not one verified example of Israeli forces targeting a child as such. Not ONE. See rebuttal below which I wrote for UN Watch. https://t.co/OIflWPp7tZ

[Eylon Levy @EylonALevy]

We live in a world where the activists who have hijacked the United Nations can fuel headlines without a shred of evidence, and Israel can publish a 61-point rebuttal that won't change people's minds. It's disinformation warfare.

[UN Watch @UNWatch]

Stone-faced. The very official tasked by the U.N. with combating violence against women shows zero empathy as Israeli victim of Hamas sexual violence courageously testifies before her.

[Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter @yechielleiter]

In case you forgot who actually brought war into south Lebanon, let's dig deeper:
This is a Hezbollah command and control room in one of the tunnels under the Beaufort Ridge. It outlines locations of Israeli communities.
Why do you think they need it?

[한국안의이스라엘 l IsraelinKorea l 🇮🇱🇰🇷주한이스라엘대사관 공식트위터 @IsraelinKorea]

산의 단단한 암반을 깎아 이토록 거대한 터널 네트워크를 구축하기까지, 얼마나 오랜 시간과 자원이 투입되었을지 상상해 보십시오.

이 시설이 증명하듯, 헤즈볼라는 오직 이스라엘에 대한 타격을 목적으로 이란의 배후 조종 하에 레바논 땅을 무단 점거하고 있는 테러 단체입니다.

국경 바로 앞까지 침투해 자국 민간인의 생명을 시시각각 위협하는 상황에서, 이러한 위험 요소를 무력화하는 것은 국민의 안전을 위한 최소한의 조치입니다. 이것이 바로 이스라엘 방위군(IDF)이 자국민을 지키기 위한 정당방위 작전을 지속할 수밖에 없는 이유입니다.

[Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter @yechielleiter]

Imagine how long it takes to carve a tunnel network like this into a mountain.

Don't be fooled - this is who Hezbollah is - terrorists occupying Lebanon at the behest of Iran in order to attack Israel.

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

To be very clear: reality is very different from the rhetoric. The IDF takes extraordinary measures to mitigate civilian harm in Lebanon. In fact, as in Gaza, it employs more civilian harm mitigation measures than any military in past or current operations.

The IDF issues evacuation warnings through multiple channels including text messages, phone calls, voicemails, flyers, radio, television, and social media. It operates dedicated civilian harm mitigation cells, tracks civilian presence through drones, cell phone data, and other ISR capabilities, and uses rigorous targeting processes that include legal reviews and proportionality assessments for any planned strikes. Legal reviews at lowest tactical level, and with the ability (which happens often as well as command decisions not to strike based on all context) to override commander decisions, unlike any other military.

In southern Lebanon, these measures are particularly effective because civilians can move away from military objectives and active combat areas.

Even in Beirut, the IDF has repeatedly provided warnings identifying specific buildings that will be struck and when. The warnings have proven so reliable that Lebanese citizens and journalists have set up cameras in advance to record the strikes. When targeting Hezbollah senior leaders, command meetings, or other military objectives in densely populated areas such as Dahiyeh (the Hezbollah controlled neighborhood of Beirut), the IDF relies on precision-guided munitions, small diameter munition (warheads with less explosives), and other low collateral damage munitions, detailed intelligence, and other methods designed to limit collateral damage while achieving the legitimate military objective.

There is also no equivalency. Israel does not intentionally target civilians. Hezbollah is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization whose strategy includes deliberately attacking civilians. Hezbollah launches rockets, missiles, and drones at civilian communities in northern Israel (daily, despite any cease fires), targeting homes, schools, businesses, and civilian infrastructure.

One side conducts legal reviews, proportionality assessments, civilian warnings, and precision strikes against military objectives. The other is a international designated terrorist group that intentionally places military assets among civilians while deliberately targeting civilians.