Hamas emerging in uniforms after the ceasefire proves they use civilians as human shields

The second the Hamas-Israel ceasefire was announced, Hamas fighters emerged adorned in full military regalia, complete with uniforms, bulletproof vests and the whole 9. Videos of Hamas fighters in full military uniforms proves the cynical and gruesome Hamas strategy of purposefully hiding amongst civilians and using their own people as human shields.

Throughout the entire war, I can't recall a single video or photo that showed a single Hamas fighter in full uniform. What we HAVE seen are endless Hamas fighters with machine guns, RPGs, and grenades; and Hamas fighters planting bombs, and attacking tanks, and ambushing Israeli solders etc - but all of these people are dressed as civilians. Any time Hamas released a propaganda video showcasing their fighters attacking Israeli forces, they were consistently (with zero exception) dressed as civilians. All the while, we know Hamas fighters have uniforms as we've seen military parades with tens of thousands of fighters all in soldier gear. And they sure found them quick the second the fighting ended this weekend.

Aside from the fact that fighting a war without identifying uniform is a war crime, Hamas' strategy makes it quite clear that they are trying to hack the rules of war to create a win-win scenario for themselves.

If they fight and kill Israeli soldiers, that is a win for them. If Israeli soldiers kill them, they quickly jump up and exclaim "Look how many civilians Israel killed." It also makes it tougher for Israel to identify who is a civilian and who is a fighter - which is exactly the dynamic they want to create. In their fighting framework, everyone is a fighter and everyone is simultaneously a civilian. This also has the added benefit - in their view - of turning every Israeli attack into a civilian catastrophe, whether it is or not.

Hamas purposefully creates ambiguity on the battlefield to create scenarios where civilian casualties are inevitable. Horrifically, this tactic often aligns with their strategy of using densely populated civilian areas for launching attacks or storing weapons, but that's a topic for another day.

The fact that Hamas magically found their uniforms the day of the ceasefire speaks volumes about their cynical exploitation of the people they are supposed to be protecting.

I've asked pro-Palestinian activists about this strategy and, perhaps they are not representative, but they dismiss the concerns out of hand. The most common response I've received is "Of course they're not fighting in uniform, then Israel would just bomb them all." The alternative though is putting Palestinian civilians at unnecessary risk.