Of course targetting civilians takes two forms.
There is the strafing of a refugee column with the sole purpose of creating mayhem and blocking a road; of shooting then population of a village pour encourager les autres; of torpedoing a passenger ship taking POW and civilians away from the war zone.
There is the collateral killing where the civilians happen to be in a target area; where civilians are crewing ships carrying war materials.
In the former the victims had no choice and no chance.
In the latter the civilians had free choice. Merchant seamen could have opted out; civilians could have evacuated the target areas.
In the former civilan deaths was NOT collateral damage; in the latter it was deliberate to a point but still technically collateral.