re: #3 ckkatz

Did I miss something?

Date of article: Thursday, January 15, 2009.

From the Wiki blurb,
[Link: en.wikipedia.org…]
The Israelis believed that they were receiving fire including antitank missile from the vicinity so fired smoke/white phosphorus shells at it. This can set things on fire.

I can field that: IDF doctrine for dealing with infantry deployed Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) since the Yom Kippur War of 1973 has been to use smoke/WP shells to blind the launcher operators. The newer ATGM types Hamas has used (which have included the advanced AT-14 Kornet) pose a deadly threat to infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) from any aspect and can even ‘mission-kill’ Merkava Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) if they hit the side or rear. Faced with such a threat already aimed at its vehicles, the IDF will simply fire off its smoke screen and worry about the people in the impact area later. Some decisions have to be made and implemented immediately, there being no time to make a moral calculation. As Gen Sherman so well said it “War is cruelty, you cannot refine it.”