The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Daily: Lessons for Civilian Harm Mitigation in Urban Warfare, from Gaza and Beyond
Feb 13, 2026
Claire Finkelstein, ethics and law scholar on urban warfare. Larry Lewis, civilian-harm mitigation scientist advising commanders. Christopher Maier, former DoD official who shaped mitigation policy. Geoffrey Corn, law professor and ex-Army JAG with Gaza field perspective. They discuss civilian harm mitigation in dense urban combat, lessons from Gaza, human shielding challenges, precautionary measures, investigations, and doctrine and training needs.
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Dedicated Civilian-Harm Expert For Commanders
- Commanders need a dedicated civilian-harm expert on staff to inform attack decisions and model downstream effects.
- Geoffrey (Jeff) Corn argues this expert improves foresight and rational proportionality assessments.
Institutionalize Civilian Harm Mitigation Capacity
- Build enduring institutional capacity rather than ad hoc efforts to advise commanders on civilian harm mitigation.
- Christopher Maier stresses legislative and outside-Pentagon expertise can sustain these capabilities amid internal reductions.
On-the-Ground View Of Gaza's Scale
- Jeff described his visits to Gaza and the shock of seeing widespread destruction and booby-trapped homes.
- He reported 100,000 combat troops versus 35–40,000 fighters and 2,700 vehicles damaged by combat.