Israeli Military Claims Responsibility for Church Blast in Gaza

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

26. From a laws of war standard

There isn't a set number or ratio. It comes down to necessity and proportionality. Basically an attack must be necessary and the advantage gained by the attack must be proportional to the harm done to innocents.

So, for example, bombing a 2 story building with a dozen innocents inside because 1 insurgent ran into the building is neither necessary nor proportional.

On the other hand, if a commander and his staff were in the same building, then it would meet the necessity requirement and the proportional requirement. Dealing a blow to the command of the enemy could ultimately save more than 12 lives in the long run. Even if the number of enemy killed is lower then the number of innocents, it would still be considered proportional due to the wider affect of the loss of a Commander and their staff.

Obviously there are a lot of gray areas to this, lots left up to interpretation, and can only be based on known information at that time.