It should come as no surprise at this point that Hamas has been strategically using civilians as human shields in its war against Israel.

Likewise, no one should be shocked to learn that the Palestinian terrorist group has been inflating its casualty numbers to pass along to the establishment media with the hope of making Israel look bad.

What is surprising to some, however, is that the deaths of Palestinian civilians have been an integral part of its strategy in the ongoing war.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that leaked messages between Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar and other Hamas officials revealed just how much they have relied on bloodshed to further their political goals.

“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” Sinwar said in one recent message, according to the Journal.

In another, he declared the numerous deaths of civilians in Gaza were “necessary sacrifices” for the Palestinian cause.

Indeed, after exiled Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh’s three sons were killed in an Israeli air strike in April, Sinwar wrote that their deaths and those of other Palestinians would “infuse life into the veins of this nation, prompting it to rise to its glory and honor,” the report said.

Yes, that’s their strategy for decades. The “poor palestinian children” TM campaign is decades long.

— Vlad 🎗🧡 🇮🇱 🇺🇦 (@VladTwitting2) June 11, 2024

Sinwar and other leaders of Hamas cared little for the human cost of their Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel. About 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were slaughtered.

It’s now clear they don’t care how many innocent people on their own side must die as they pursue their political aims.

With the recently released videos of Hamas cruelly taunting kidnapped girls, the discovery of Israeli hostages in the homes of Palestinian civilians and now these messages, it is obvious that Hamas must be defeated.

After months of the establishment media, including folks like President Joe Biden, self-righteously castigating Israel for how it is defending itself, it should be clear now how biased that judgment has been.

Hamas wants civilian casualties so they can be weaponized against Israel in the court of public opinion.

As The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro noted on the social media platform X, “Hamas is counting on you, legacy media!”

In other words, Hamas is counting on you, legacy media! Don’t let them down! pic.twitter.com/JVz7NldHL2

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 11, 2024

Thankfully, even with too many governments and establishment media outlets buying Hamas’ inflated casualty numbers and condemning Israel, the Jewish state has refused to back down.

Even in this face of immense, and unfair, international pressure, Israel will defend itself against an unhinged terrorist organization.

And, unlike that organization, it doesn’t have to sacrifice its own people to do so.