Agreed. Facts don't change. Using human shields is a war crime. Deliberately killing those human shields to get to the people behind them is also a war crime.
Please allow me to rephrase what you said a bit.
Israel knows full well that when they go after Hamas a lot of civilians are going to die as a result. But, they are targetting Hamas, with which most people agree.
When you say "deliberately killing the human shields/civilians" then you are saying that they are targetting those civilians which I don't believe is true. When they drop a bomb on a Hamas position, they and everybody else knows that it's unavoidable that civilians will die, but that does not mean that they were the target.
It's not like they have to kill the civilians to to also hit Hamas. Calling them a shield is figurative. Their bodies of skin and bone are not going to protect Hamas and stop a bomb like a shield stops a spear. It's not like "Oh there's 10 people standing over that tunnel and we have to kill them before a bomb can hurt Hamas". The bomb will create the same damage to the tunnel whether civilians are there or not. It serves no purpose to target civilians when they want Hamas. It actually works against them because they lose public support in many areas around the world.
Human shield means that it's supposed stop Israel from bombing for out of compassion for human life. But this time Hamas crossed the line and it forces Israel to not show compassion or restraint all the time. Undoubtedly they are losing their humanity. They tried warning the Gazans to go somewhere MORE safe seeing as no place is totally safe. But because of Hamas' strategy and the fact they truly don't want peace with Israel, I'm not sure what other options Israel has.
The fact is they are both war crimes. If you think Israel is justified in committing war crimes, just say so rather than trying to argue it's not a war crime.
I'm not ruling out that Israel is committing war crimes. I'm saying it's complicated.
Hamas initiates the situation by using human shield. They have triggered/forced Israeli retaliation. Israel has had enough after the barbaric slaughter of Oct. 7.
So their state goal is to rid the world of Hamas, which is a good thing for the world. So if Hamas won't negotiate peace and release the hostages and Israel MUST eliminate them, how do they do that without falling into the PR trap. So yeah, Israel has lost their humanity and sense of compassion for other humans, but what option do they have. They have to call Hamas' bluff in spite of losing ground in the court of public opinion.
Israel didn't start this most current conflict and they are not the ones putting civilians in harms way, so is it a war crime? I honestly don't know. Even though Israel may be pulling the trigger, Hamas bears far more blame. They knew in advance what they were/are sacrificing their citizens while Israel is trying to protect theirs. The two sides are operating very differently.
Let's say Israel is committing war crimes but Israel is still on a mission to destroy Hamas to save their country which Hamas wants to drive into the sea. Israel is on the brink and either let themselves be exterminated by Hamas or destroy Hamas even though there are unsavory consequences. I suspect that almost every country, if faced with Israel's predicament would make the same choice that Israel has.
Wow. I'm exhausted. I don't even have the strength to go back and proofread this so apologies in advance for any typos and/or poor phraseology.