VICTOR JOECKS: How AOC, Sanders could stop deaths of kids in Gaza

The intellectual folly of leftists such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders is why Hamas uses women and children as human shields.

Israel is counterattacking against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It leveled a host of military targets hidden among civilian structures, It cut off water and electricity it had been supplying to the region. It is not allowing in food or fuel. A ground invasion appears imminent.

So far, authorities in Gaza say more than 1,400 been killed in the attacks. They also claim hundreds of children and women have died. Reports from a government run by Hamas should always be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s reasonable to think hundreds have died in Gaza.

In response, many Democrats are now calling for Israel to back off its attacks.

AOC tweeted, “Millions of innocent people cannot be made to pay for Hamas’ horror. Collective punishment is a war crime. So are blockades to food and water.”

The idea that a country must supply its enemy with electricity and water is laughable. Even so, Israel says it will let in humanitarian aid once Hamas releases the hostages it took. Don’t expect AOC to demand Hamas do that.

“We must also insist on restraint from Israeli forces attacking Gaza,” Sanders wrote on X on Wednesday. He continued, “Half of the 2 million people in Gaza are children. Children and innocent people do not deserve to be punished for the acts of Hamas.”

On the surface, this makes sense. One of the highest priorities in Western civilization is protecting innocent life. Even though Hamas bears the moral responsibility for it, it’s a tragedy when a child in Gaza dies as the result of Israel’s justified military actions.

Hamas doesn’t share this ideal. It hides its military infrastructure in hospitals, schools and residential buildings. But it’s worse than that.

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged those in Gaza to “get out now” before Israel attacked. The Israeli Defense Force released videos in Arabic showing Gazans which neighborhoods to go to. In contrast, Hamas told Gaza civilians not to leave the targeted areas.

Why? Because it wants some women and children to die when Israel attacks legitimate military targets. Hamas knows useful idiots, such as AOC and Sanders, will use those deaths — or the possibility of future deaths — to demand Israel show “restraint.”

Sacrificing children to help your military would be unthinkable here, but Hamas doesn’t share Western values. “We love death like our enemies love life,” a speaker at the funeral of a Palestinian terrorist said this year.

If AOC and Sanders want to save the lives of children in Gaza, they should condemn Hamas for putting them in harm’s way. They should clearly state that a terror group willing to use the children of its own residents as human shields deserves scorn and death.

Hamas will stop using children as human shields only when it becomes a PR and strategic liability, instead of an asset.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Listen to him discuss his columns each Monday at 7 a.m. with Kevin Wall on AM 670 KMZQ Right Talk. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.