There is much evidence that four children are dead as a result of that incident.
There is not yet any evidence whatsoever that the IDF knew they were children at the time of the shooting.
Eyewitnesses cannot even agree on whether it was the result of offshore Israeli naval gunfire or an IDF artillery barrage or an IDF airstrike.
And zero - zero - has surfaced so far, with respect to targeting, or the sequencing and information passed as part of the fire mission.
Until such time as additional information comes to light, from reliable sources...
We have the tragedy of four Palestinian kids who died as a result of an IDF fire-mission...
We have NO data on whether or not the shooters knew they were targeting children...
None.
Eyewitnesses in the beachfront hotel knew they were children without the benefit of binoculars.
What would I consider a 'reliable source' in this matter?
1. consensus amongst multiple
neutral journalists who witnessed the
source of the firing?
2. clarification from the IDF, re: whether it was air, sea or land (artillery)?
3. intel from the US (observers, satellite feeds, etc.)
4. video, showing both the targets and the source of the firing, actually doing the firing, from an angle showing cause-and-effect?
Anybody other than the side who is doing the accusing.
Eyewitnesses on a beachfront hotel balcony 100 or 150 meters away, without binoculars, are a lot closer and have a better view, than a jet fighter-bomber bearing in from 10,000 feet at 600 MPH...
Eyewitnesses on a beachfront hotel balcony 100 or 150 meters away, without binoculars, are a lot closer and have a better view, than an artillery firebase 2 or 3 or 10 kilometers away or more, or an observer 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 kilometers away...
Eyewitnesses on a beachfront hotel balcony 100 or 150 meters away, without binoculars, are a lot closer and have a better view, than a naval gunship several hundred meters or a kilometer or two offshore...
Either there was a major screw-up somewhere up-and-down the line, in connection with observers calling-in a fire-mission, or a mistake in target identification or sequencing, or somebody in the IDF deliberately called-in a strike on little kids...
Your money is on 'deliberate targeting of children'...
My money is on 'mistaken targeting of children'... the targeting itself was intentional, and effective, but the observer(s) or those calling-in the fire-mission did not realize that they were targeting children at the time...
There is no little or no evidence that I am aware of, so far, one way or another, which is why I, and most other folks, are content to wait until further clarification can be obtained... not to delay an investigation or to try to sweep it under the carpet, but in order to get the facts, no partisan hype, one way or another...
(*) Personally, if it turns out that the Israelis did, indeed, target those kids, then, it's my hope that all those who had a hand in it, who knew they were dealing with children, and carried through with the hit anyway, should be brought up on criminal charges, and that severe penalties should be handed down, if they are found guilty...
But that doesn't mean that the world is going to skip right over the discovery and arraignment and trial processes on your say-so.
...Name the 'eyewitnesses' you claim who can't agree where the shells came from...
...Peter Beaumont, the Guardian's Jerusalem correspondent, was sitting on a terrace at a beach-front Gaza hotel when he saw explosions on the pier wall...
...
The initial reports coming from journalists on the scene attributed the explosions to gunfire from Israeli Navy boats that have been firing at targets on the coast in recent days. Beaumont who has covered many wars including Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia, says that after he and colleagues began getting a clearer picture, he reached the conclusion that it was most likely an air strike...
An eyewitness account of the attack that killed four children on Gaza beach - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz
Questions?
...Is this any crime Jews might commit that you won't prompt SQUEALS of protests from you?
Sure.
This very one.
IF it turns out that children were intentionally targeted, and that the observers and/or shooters knew they wee children, at the time they called-in the fire-mission or actually fired.
As I've already outlined, above, in this very post. (*)
Questions?