Anyone who is actively shooting a weapon or planting a bomb IS a combatant
There are countless thousands of innocent Palestineans who are trapped in a deadly situation. At the same time, there are Palestineans actively involved in combat (hence they are combatants) who are fair game. Unfortunately, the combatants are often doing their business near the noncombatants, leading to the increased risk of innocent people being killed. That seems to be ok, though, because when the innocent get caught in the crossfire, it makes for more anti-Israel propaganda. If the combatants really cared about the lives of the innocent Palestineans, they'd do whatever they could to separate themselves from the noncombatants to spare bloodshed. Unfortunately, they don't seem to care.