I’m responding to the false allegations in “Texas Stands with Gaza,” by Dania Hussein. In fact, Israel tries its best to avoid civilian deaths by warning residents in various ways to flee, but Hamas purposely chose to locate all its rocket launchers throughout civilian areas, including schools, hospitals and mosques. Should Israel have ignored endless rocket attacks on its citizens? That Hamas keeps its own civilians in danger as human shields, sometimes threatening them if they try to leave, is a moral outrage somehow not mentioned in this article. Israel pulled every last Jew out of Gaza in 2005, but for what? Hamas turned it into a war zone filled with missiles and terror tunnels used to kill Israeli civilians and hide Hamas leaders while Palestinians are being killed. Israel has the obligation to keep weapons from being smuggled in through these tunnels. The number of civilian casualties is wildly inflated here, too, as many of those killed have been Hamas operatives.

Hussein applies a double standard that would never be applied to another country. Why not vent her anger on Hamas, the radical Islamist group more interested in death (as their leaders have said) and the propaganda value of their own people being killed than in helping build schools, homes and better lives for them? Hamas places a much greater value on trying to destroy Israel than on helping Palestinians. That is the real travesty and crime.

— Sara Miller, New York City, in response to Dania Hussein’s Monday column on the ‘Texas Stands with Gaza’ protest