I was thinking along the lines of something like this...

We are about to conduct an operation, but we see via satellite imagery that the enemy has placed his weapons in and around mosques, schools, hospitals, orphanages, etc. We hold a big news conference, show off the photos, and declare that, "the enemy has violated the LOAC by deliberately placing his weapons in areas that are intended to put civilians in unnecessary danger. In light of this moral and ethical quandary, we have chosen to stand down our forces. The enemy is clearly in violation of international law, but we nonetheless cannot rely upon our moral superior position as justification to attack when we know that it will result in civilian casualties. We value human life and rule of law more than short-term tactical victories."

Good message, imo.