Everyone is aware of Hamas' extraordinary use of civilians and civilian infrastructure for military purposes. There was Palestinian rocket fire from school premises during the operation in Gaza. Palestinian forces used mosques to store rockets and explosives. Palestinian forces recruited children to conduct combat-support operations.

A Newsweek article (cited in the Goldstein report) quotes a Palestinian witness stating that "resistance fighters were firing from positions all around the [Al Quds] hospital." An article in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera corroborates this, quoting a resident of the neighborhood saying, "The Hamas gunmen had taken refuge mainly in the building that houses the administrative offices of Al Quds" and that "nurses were forced to take off their uniforms … so they [the gunmen] could blend better and escape the Israeli snipers."

Palestinian armed groups forced civilians to remain within the vicinity of the attacks. In the Corriere della Sera article, Gazan residents explicitly stated that Hamas fighters forcibly prevented them from leaving their houses and shot at Israeli forces from the same locations, telling them that they should be happy to die together with the "holy warriors."

By the way, these details contravened the political agenda of the Goldstein report, so they were omitted or airbrushed over.

This is not to deny what the Palestinians have suffered, but it exposes Hamas for what they are.