Suffering is suffering, regardless of the cause. That said, the differences in intent and tactics between Hamas and Israel in Gaza cannot be equated morally as has been suggested by many news outlets including, at the least, NBC and CNN (I have not made a study of them all).
Rabbi Eric Yoffie’s most recent blog, which I recommend, explains why (Time Magazine, July 14 – Bizarre Criticism of Israel: “Disproportionate” Casualties – http://ericyoffie.com/).
The following article is also a must-read as it is a reminder of the toll of war on the innocent, if we needed reminding after a decade of war after 9/11 in the US, and then in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, the Congo, and God knows where else.
Report From Gaza: When My Son Screams – We don’t even seem to have a right to exist or defend ourselves. That right, according to the United States, belongs to Israel alone. By Mohammed Omer – July 15, 2014 – http://www.thenation.com/article/180656/report-gaza-when-my-son-screams#
Rabbi John Rosove's Blog 
You’ll probably be surprised by my reaction to this. Of course, at the
most basic and human level, it’s heart wrenching to read the
excruciatingly detailed description of the horror of explosives enveloping
your family. But where is the recognition that Hamas and yes, Gaza’s own
citizenry, bear significant responsibility for this? Where’s the insight
that if Hamas (chosen by Gaza’s own populace as its government) had not
chosen to aim rockets directly at Israeli civilians, that this reality
never would have befallen him? Where is the recognition that his analogy
to the Warsaw ghetto is a moral outrage? The “where” is answered at the
end; i.e., that Israel has “disrupted [his] existence since 1947.” So
it’s Israel’s very existence that is the sticking point; a sticking point
for which rockets aimed at OUR babies is apparently a legitimate response.
So while at a most fundamental level of human decency I feel for the
author, his article actually sickens me.
Glenn L. Krinsky
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From:
Rabbi John Rosove’s Blog
To:
glkrinsky@jonesday.com,
Date:
07/16/2014 08:53 AM
Subject:
[New post] Suffering is Suffering
rabbijohnrosove posted: “Suffering is suffering, regardless of the cause.
That said, the differences in intent and tactics between Hamas and Israel
in Gaza cannot be equated morally as has been suggested by many news
outlets including, at the least, NBC and CNN (I have not made a”
Lots of sympathy for Omar and his family and all of those suffering. It is horrible, and he is right! NO one should have to live like that. But hasn’t anyone told him. Egypt brokered a cease fire that would have stopped what is causing him and his family such anguish. Israel said, “Yes,” Hamas said, “No.” That is why his suffering and that of his wife and baby continue. It is very sad.