Genocide? This is in fact what genocide looks like:

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140. The cost of modern warfare is increased civilian deaths. How many are acceptable? How many needed for genocide?

Many including myself would say not one non-combatant should be harmed. But modern wars are by nature destructive to non-combatants. This website explores The Costs of War https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/

How does the Gaza war compare? 36000 reported deaths by Hamas Health at the moment. 10,000 Hamas fighters were reported dead by IDF when total Gazan deaths was 30000 at the end of February, that would imply a 1:2 ratio of combatants to non-combatants. Both numbers are controversial. How does this compare the past wars in the last 25 years:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68387864

Here is some data from previous wars:



The ratio of combatants to non-combatants in the Gaza war seems most similar to the Iraq War.

However, indirect deaths in modern wars which afflict mostly civilians are far greater and described in this research report:
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2023/Indirect%20Deaths.pdf and here:
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2023/Indirect%20Deaths%20Executive%20Summary-2.pdf
Bottom line is that ~4 indirect deaths are associated with every 1 direct death.

Is genocide only a numbers determination, and does it also require intent? Does this intent require that the goal is the complete elimination of an entire group of people? Many would state that the intent to eliminate a group of people is required, as was the intention of the Nazis in the Holocaust. Were any of these past modern conflicts genocidal?

The bottom line is that war should be avoided at all costs. But what happens when one group attacks another? In the Gaza War, Hamas intentionally provoked Israel by attacking civilians and kidnapping some of them because they wanted a war to draw attention to their cause. They have succeeded and retain the hostages as negotiating chips, but the hostages motivate Israel to continue fighting. Not only that, but the casualties of this war are likely to further polarize support for extreme anti-Israel sentiment among the Palestinians. When peace or a ceasefire is finally achieved it will be difficult to see how further hostilities can be avoided. The creation of a much delayed Palestinian state may help, but problems remain on the horizon especially if Hamas or a successor organization participates and if Israel continues to promote settlement of the West Bank, but with such enmity, this region of the world is likely to be a hot spot of trouble going forwards leading to the deaths of more civilians throughout the region.