As I see all these figures dropping into an ideological "blame the victim" because TV told me so, I am surprised to see that the following thought hasn't crossed their mind.
There is violence from both sides, of course, no one is arguing that. Violence is sometimes the right response, imagine if someone broke into your home, trashed your place, abused your wife and beat up your kids, month after month for years... and one day you stand up to them, and it's your fault that they decided to burn your house for having the audacity to stand up to them. And all your neighbors would blame you for it.
They all remained quiet when all the abuse and periodic beatings and robbery was taking place, but when you decide to punch them in the face, then you're the violent one, then it's "see?! see what you get?!"
Bottom line, as I see this situation, Israel is and always has been the aggressor, period. Is Hamas being violent? yes... are they innocent? I don't think so, but I don't think they're going for the innocent, that is Israel's move, Hamas is doing the only thing they can. It's either face extermination while still.. or face it while you at least punch back.
The goal of whatever is going on was never, to defend Israel, I mean that is blatantly obvious, the goal of the events that have transpired thus far, is precisely what is going on, for Israel to get their fix on their psychopathic thirst for more death and misery. For cruel treatment, their military could (I think) finish the operation in no time, that's not what they want, they want the suffering to be prolonged, they want to deliver torture not defeat.
I realize there may be more plans at higher levels, economic and geopolitical, and those will become visible soon enough I suppose, but at an immediate level... it's thirst for the cruelty that is being perpetrated.
I realize I went on a tangent there, but the point I was trying to make is that... It is shocking that people do not realize that they are using the correct definitions to condemn cruel acts, but they're applying it to the victim while defending the cruel psychopath. Indiscriminate and exaggerated violence on an innocent population, that can only be explained by a complete lack of humanity, is how most people define a terrorist... but that is precisely what Israel has been doing for decades.
But people become so deeply attached to their "team" and draw so much identity from belonging to whatever group they belong to, that once they've chosen a side, no amount of reason will get through to them, they are not looking for the truth any longer, they're twisting facts to suit the theory... they live in an entirely different realty.