By Malik Washington, Destination Freedom Media Group
Starving Palestinians – https://www.reuters.com/pictures/gazas-deepening-hunger-crisis-photos-2025-08-04
When the Holocaust happened during World War II, the entire world community was shocked, mortified, and sickened by the horrific atrocities visited upon Jewish human beings by Hitler’s Nazis. The phrase “NEVER AGAIN” became the mantra embraced by human beings across the world who stand guard against the rise of another dictator or regime that dares to wage a campaign of genocide against any nation or people regardless of their religion, race or national origin. This has always been my understanding of the phrase “NEVER AGAIN.” It is also my firm belief that the Palestinian people are deserving and in need of protection by the world community before they are utterly destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces.
FAMINE AND GENOCIDE IS HAPPENING!
Rather than continue to offer my opinion on these topics, I’ve chosen to report and share some facts and evidence I’ve discovered through months of research. Famine and genocide are happening in Gaza. I begin my exposé by highlighting two remarkable articles which contain intriguing satellite images. The first was published in December 2023 by (State Source of the article here). The article began this way: “The Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip has destroyed a vast amount of agricultural land. Satellite images are the only way of observing the damage amid ongoing, fierce fighting. According to one analyst, 22% of arable land has already been destroyed, and the fighting will leave a lasting mark on the Palestinian enclave.”
Satellite images show destruction of trees (top) and greenhouses (bottom) in north Gaza. Yin et al (2025)
Photo credit: https://theconversation.com/gaza-we-analysed-a-year-of-satellite-images-to-map-the-scale-of-agricultural-destruction-248796
Here we have shared a couple of satellite images which clearly show the decimation and destruction of agricultural land by the IDF. Remember, these images and reports are from November/December 2023 and February 2024. Perhaps this is not a “smoking gun” but when we consider the totality of the conditions on the ground unfolding presently in Gaza it is something that must be considered. On August 3, 2025 PBS-NewsHour interviewed Olga Trevko who is the spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs in Gaza. During the interview Ms. Trevko said: “The situation in terms of starvation crisis and the level of hunger here has reached unprecedented levels. And it’s now very visible and obvious to the eye. So, the whole world has now seen these horrifying pictures of children and adults who are obviously starving. “The fact that it is now manifesting itself in people’s bodies, means that it has been happening over all these months that we’ve said that there is a crisis and it must be addressed immediately.”
Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, an 18-month-old child, in Gaza City, 21 July 2025. Photograph: Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-arini/Anadolu/Getty Images
Photo credit: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/06/gaza-photo-child-malnourished-medical
According to UNICEF, more than 320,000 children, the entire population under age 5 in Gaza are at risk of acute malnutrition.” Source: The Daily Podcast (August 1, 2025 produced by The New York Times)
This shocking exclusive by TruthOut solidifies our argument.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement during a visit to the site of the Weizmann Institute of Science, which was hit by an Iranian missile barrage, in the central city of Rehovot on June 20, 2025 [Jack Guez/Pool/AFP]
Photo credit: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/25/israel-thinks-netanyahu-is-victorious-against-iran-what-will-he-do-next
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, members of his defense cabinet and even some media outlets in the United States have been not just denying the existence of starvation in Gaza, they have gone as far to say that the United Nations and even the World Food Program was waging an “info-war” of false propagation against the State of Israel.
Fact check: Netanyahu’s disinformation about famine in Gaza
https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-aid-groups-contradict-israeli-gaza-claims/a-73456462
Netanyahu’s claim of no starvation in Gaza contradicts widespread reports of a growing hunger crisis
CBN News QuickStart Podcast – August 1st (Gaza starvation claims disputed) and August 7th (Israel battles fake news)
https://cbn.com/podcasts/news-quick-start
How Is Western Media Framing the Famine Catastrophe in the Gaza Strip? https://institute.aljazeera.net/en/ajr/article/3230
Genocide, Displacement and Starvation in Gaza: The Urgent Need for a Permanent Ceasefire and Protection of Civilians – Letter from the State of Palestine
https://www.un.org/unispal/document/letter-from-the-state-of-palestine-23apr25
Genocide is taking place in Gaza and Europe is duty bound to stop it, Israeli scholar says
Is Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza? New Report from BU School of Law’s International Human Rights Clinic Lays Out Case (Boston University)
These denials of starvation and genocide in Gaza (above) as well as the allegations that the United Nations has fabricated evidence prompted me to conduct more research. Here we present an authentic, verified, and confirmable bullet point presentation that documents in chronological order historic and current examples where the United Nations (UN), particularly its Human Rights and humanitarian branches, ACCURATELY IDENTIFIED OR PREDICTED FAMINE OR GENOCIDE.
🌍 Africa
- Rwanda (1994 Genocide)
- UN Special Rapporteurs and the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) raised repeated warnings about ethnic violence and preparations for genocide, which were largely ignored by major powers.
- Source: UN Security Council Reports; “Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Actions of the United Nations during the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda” (1999) [UN Doc S/1999/1257].
- Somalia Famine (2011)
- FAO and UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) declared famine in parts of Somalia after repeated early warnings.
- The famine killed more than 250,000 people, half of them children under five.
- Source: FAO-WFP Somalia Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit, 2013.
- South Sudan (2017–2023)
- UN repeatedly warned of ethnic cleansing and potential famine due to civil conflict and deliberate blockage of aid.
- Source: UN Human Rights Council, A/HRC/37/71 (2018); WFP Situation Reports.
🇪🇺 Europe
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1995)
- UN officials and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) documented systematic ethnic cleansing and warned of the genocide at Srebrenica in advance.
- Source: UNPROFOR documents; ICTY Final Judgment in Prosecutor v. Radovan Karadžić (2016).
🌏 Southeast Asia
- Myanmar (Rohingya Crisis, 2017–present)
- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of “textbook ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State by Myanmar military forces.
- Source: OHCHR statements, August 2017; UN Fact-Finding Mission Report (2018), A/HRC/39/64.
🌍 Middle East – Special Focus on Gaza & West Bank
- Gaza Humanitarian Crisis (2007–present, worsening in 2023–2025)
- Repeated UN warnings of deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza, exacerbated by blockade, infrastructure collapse, and armed conflict.
- In 2023, UN Human Rights Office and WFP warned of famine risk due to Israeli blockade and targeting of aid convoys.
- In 2024–2025, UN OCHA and IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) stated that Gaza had reached Phase 5 (Catastrophic) famine conditions in parts of northern Gaza.
- As of August 2025, the UN confirms that tens of thousands of children face imminent death due to starvation, with Israeli restrictions on food and fuel as the cause.
- Sources:
- UN OCHA Gaza Situation Reports – 2023–2025
- World Food Programme (WFP) Briefing, June 2025
- FAO & IPC Global Platform, July 2025
- UNRWA Commissioner-General’s Statement, July 2025
After reviewing this historical data, our readers may be compelled to ask: “Why would the United Nations start lying to or misleading the world community now?” Here is my point. Allegations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right U.S media that the United Nations is falsely reporting starvation in Gaza are not supported by fact. The United Nations has a long standing, independently verified track record of accurately identifying famine and genocide conditions around the world. From Rwanda to Bosnia and from South Sudan to Myanmar the UN has been there. In Gaza, multiple UN agencies including the World Food Programme (WFP), UNRWA, and as earlier mentioned here, the UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA), have used standardized internationally accepted metrics such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) to confirm famine.
These reports, some of which we cite here, are further substantiated by eyewitness accounts, satellite imagery, humanitarian organization assessments and independent NGO findings. Attempts to discredit these warnings serve only to obstruct humanitarian aid and further endanger civilian lives particularly children!
EXECUTION OF THOSE SEEKING AID
*Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza. Nearly half of those killed in the war have been women and children. 18, 592 Children Dead and 9,782 Women Dead per the Gaza Health Ministry.
*More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gun fire while seeking aid since May 2025 according to witnesses, health officials and the United Nations Human Rights Office. Source: Article by AP journalists Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy entitled: Palestinian Death Toll in Israel-Hamas war passes 60,000 Gaza Health Ministry says.
I spend numerous hours every day of the week studying a variety of media and news platforms in order to obtain an accurate picture of the war and humanitarian crisis in both Gaza and the West Bank. There appears to be a plethora of misinformation emanating from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in regard to the deaths of Palestinians seeking aid. The IDF says it only fires “warning shots” when Palestinians get to close to fences or barricades surrounding aid. However, the death toll numbers say something completely different.
What we know about the killing of Palestinians at a food point in Gaza
Gaza: Israeli Killings of Palestinians Seeking Food Are War Crimes
Along this same subject are the multiple reports that Palestinians are being killed while attempting to access aid at distribution centers erected by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
During my research I have discovered that the Executive Chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is a gentleman by the name of Johnnie Moore Jr. Mr. Moore is an Evangelical Christian leader with strong ties to the Republican Party. Mr. Moore is also a former Vice President of Communications at scandal-ridden Liberty University in Virginia.
Truth, justice, and the Liberty Way
https://virginiabusiness.com/truth-justice-and-the-liberty-way
Sin and Scandal at Liberty University
Liberty University Fined $14M Over Campus Safety
Here Is the Entire James MacDonald’s Hot Mic Transcript : “This Is a New Friendship With Christianity Today.
In the fall of 2018, Johnnie Moore was involved in a scandal concerning a hot-mic recording during a conversation with James MacDonald. The 50-minute recording, which was later aired by Chicago radio host Mancow Muller, captured MacDonald making vulgar and offensive remarks, including jokes about planting child pornography on the computer of Harold Smith, former CEO of Christianity Today, and suggesting that journalist Julie Roys and Christianity Today editor Mark Galli were having an illicit affair. Moore, who was present on the call and served as a public relations consultant for MacDonald, did not object to these comments; instead, he laughed and at times agreed with MacDonald’s statements; (4:09 – 5:01 (Roys) & 7:33 – relationship with Falwell)
On June 26, 2025 Johnnie Moore was a guest on the Quick Start Podcast at CBN.com. Here is one of the many comments Mr. Moore made during that interview. “We (GHF) created secure distribution centers and those secure distribution centers are staffed by a combination of American contractors and local Gazans. Those American contractors provide a sense of security and the place is designed to make it feel secure.” On their face, these comments by Mr. Moore are inaccurate and misleading, they also are in stark contradiction to numerous articles written by Associated Press (AP) journalists who’ve been covering the Israeli-Hamas War for many months AND the interview with Anthony Aguilar, a retired U.S. soldier who worked as a subcontractor with UG Solutions in the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid delivery operation.
SUMMARY OF AP ARTICLES FROM LATE MAY THROUGH EARLY AUGUST 2025
1.) “Deadly Rush at Israeli-Backed Aid Site in Northern Gaza” By Wafaa Shurafa (AP) May 31, 2025 NOTES: 18 Palestinians were killed and dozens were injured in a stampede while rushing to a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site near Beit Lahia.
2.) “Scores Killed as Crowds Gather for Food in Rafah” By Samy Magdy (AP) June 7, 2025. NOTES: 26 Palestinians dead after Israeli troops fired “warning shots” ; this triggered confusion and a crowd crush at a GHF convoy.
3.)”Aid Line Chaos Leaves 15 Dead in Gaza City ” By Samya Kullab (AP) June 20, 2025. NOTES: 15 Palestinians killed as food queues turned violent; GHF trucks had been delayed hours
4.) “Rising Death Toll as Palestinians Seek Food Amid Gaza Crisis”–Joint byline: Wafaa Shurafa and Samya Kullab (AP) July 5, 2025
5.) “Israel-Backed Foundation Faces Scrutiny Over Safety at Aid Sites” –By Samy Magdy (AP) July 18, 2025. NOTES: This Investigative piece summarizes all fatalities since May 2025 associated with Palestinians seeking food and aid from sites run and operated by the GHF.
6.) Israeli troops opened fire towards crowds of Palestinians seeking food from distribution hubs run by a U.S. and Israeli backed group in Gaza killing at least 32 people…… By Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy (AP) July 19, 2025 and finally
7.) Israel plans to take over Gaza City to pressure Hamas; Worries rise for civilians and hostages. By Wafaa Shurafa, Sam Metz and Samy Magdy (AP) AUGUST 8, 2025. NOTES: “There is nothing left to occupy. There is no Gaza left.”——Maysaa al-Heila (lives in a displacement camp)
One of the most earth-shattering revelations which I believe literally obliterates Mr. Moore’s narrative came out of an interview conducted by journalist Jeremy Bowen with the BBC news service.
Mr. Bowen interviewed a former U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret) Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Aguilar with 25 years of prior military experience who worked with the GHF! This retired U.S. Army Colonel had this to say about his experience in Gaza: “they (GHF) are guilty of war crimes….and in my entire career I’ve never witnessed the level of brutality at the hands of the IDF and U.S. contractors against unarmed civilians.” Ladies and gentlemen please listen for yourselves.
Exclusive: GHF ‘complicit in war crimes’ in Gaza, says former aid contractor
“Designed as Death Traps”: Fmr. Green Beret Who Worked at Gaza Food Sites Reveals Rampant War Crimes
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/7/29/anthony_aguilar_ghf_war_crimes
ISRAELI SETTLER VIOLENCE IN THE WEST BANK
“There must be accountability for this criminal and terroristic act.” These were the words of Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Mr. Huckabee was commenting on the horrific murder of U.S. citizen Sayfollah Musallet. Sayfollah was beaten to death by a mob of Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Relatives mourn Palestinian American beaten to death by Israeli settlers: ‘He made everyone feel loved’
Photo Credit: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/16/sayfollah-musallet-west-bank-florida
Family of American citizen killed by Israeli settlers demands US probe
Sayfollah was the fifth American citizen killed in the West Bank since October 7, 2023. “According to the United Nations, there have been approximately 700 attacks on Palestinians or their property in the West Bank in 2025, a 15 percent increase from 2024.”
When we discuss the murder of Americans citizens in the West Bank, we must take into consideration that there have not been any suspects charged nor have there been any meaningful investigations launched. Ambassador Huckabee said that Sayfollah’s death was an “act of terror.” With that in mind, I know for a fact that the U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, can task the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel, to investigate this crime. The terms “extra-judicial” and “extra-territorial” authority apply here. Think of an incident such as the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen. The FBI sent a team over immediately to investigate that particular act of terror. However, there appears to be no political will and interest by government officials in Washington, D.C. to investigate or solve this ongoing situation in the West Bank.
Sayfollah was from Tampa, Florida. He was a huge fan of the major league baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays. He sold ice cream at home and his family described him as one of the kindest young men you could ever meet. This leads me to ask these questions: “Is there a lesser value placed on the life of a Palestinian American than that of other Americans? What will it take to convince the White House to get involved here.”
AWDAH HATHALEEN AND PROJECT ESTHER
I took the death of Awdah Hathaleen (below – left) personal. Hathaleen was an award-winning director who collaborated with Basel Adra in creating the documentary “No Other Land.”
Link to streaming of “No Other Land”: https://releasing.dogwoof.com/no-other-land
Mr. Hathaleen was invited to the Bay Area in Northern California by a Rabbi in Oakland in order to speak at a conference which was providing a safe space for multicultural and interfaith dialogue on topics covered in the film. In June 2025, Mr. Hathaleen and his cousin showed up at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) with VALID VISAS in hand. For a reason that is still unclear, Mr. Hathaleen was detained by U.S. authorities and sent back to his home in the West Bank. Upon his arrival, Mr. Hathaleen was allegedly shot by a man who was illegally in his neighborhood. The alleged murderer of Mr. Hathaleen was an infamous Israeli settler by the name of Yinon Levi. Mr. Levi was caught on camera with his gun at the scene. U.S. Representative Lateefah Simon and her office have been attempting to obtain answers as to why Mr. Hathaleen and his cousin were detained in the first place.
PROJECT ESTHER
I believe strongly that Mr. Hathaleen and his cousin were the victims and the targets of a shadowy program created by the Heritage Foundation and embraced by the U.S. government known as Project ESTHER.
Project ESTHER (Education in Service to the Holocaust and Ethnic Reconciliation) is a controversial initiative launched by the Heritage Foundation in early 2024. Publicly framed as a campaign to combat antisemitism and promote Holocaust education, Project ESTHER has been criticized for operating as a covert surveillance and pressure program targeting pro-Palestinian activism on U.S. college campuses. The project reportedly maintains a centralized database of student organizations, faculty members, and non-profits that voice opposition to Israeli military actions or support Palestinian human rights. Project ESTHER partners with politically aligned think tanks, legal advocacy groups, and media outlets to pressure universities to defund or deregister targeted organizations and to discipline faculty critical of Israel.
Here is a list of targeted groups, organizations and institutions which have attracted the unwanted attention of those implementing Project ESTHER’S policies and directives.
Targeted Institutions and Organizations (Reported):
- Universities/Colleges:
- Columbia University
- University of California, Berkeley
- Harvard University
- University of Michigan
- George Washington University
- Pro-Palestinian/Nonprofits Targeted:
- Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)
- Jewish Voice for Peace
- American Muslims for Palestine
- The Palestine Legal Project
- US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
On its face, Project ESTHER seeks to eradicate pro-Palestinian activism and advocacy BUT ITS UNDERLYING AGENDA IS TO SILENCE AND CRUSH ALL PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENTS. Since colleges and universities have been of special interest to those who propagate the Project ESTHER agenda and strategy, I encourage all students to listen to the interview with New York Times Investigative Correspondent Katie J.M. Baker. Here is the link to the podcast interview.
Link to Project Esther Podcast: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/podcasts/the-daily/project-esther-antisemitism-heritage-foundation.html
I encourage all truth and knowledge seekers to listen to this enlightening interview. I end this lengthy piece by asking the International community to come together in solidarity in order to denounce the newly announced plan to occupy Gaza City. I ask humanitarians everywhere to join me in calling out Hamas on their use of barbaric psychological torture tactics of Jewish hostages. Release the Hostages Now! Prime Minister Netanyahu, his defense cabinet and the IDF must not be allowed to continue their genocidal military campaign.
In video, Hamas forces hostage Evyatar David to dig what he fears will be his own grave
“NEVER AGAIN” MUST APPLY TO THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE AND NOT JUST A SELECT FEW.
We leave you with this song and video:
Get Up, Stand Up (1973) – Bob Marley & The Wailers
Malik Washington is a freelance journalist and Director at Destination: Freedom and Destination Freedom Media Group. For over 13 years, Malik has been a published journalist and news reporter focusing on criminal justice issues, conditions of confinement in jails and prisons, as well as hot-button political issues. You can reach him via email: mwashington@destination-freedom.org
Suggestions or leads on stories are always welcome.
Seems to me that rather than comparing the people in Gaza to concentration camp victims, a better comparison would be the non-combatants in Germany, Japan, and Italy during WWII and its aftermath.
And that Hamas could be compared to the Nazi party, and the leaders of Japan and Italy during that time.
I see that Israel will now take over Gaza, much as the allies did in regard to the countries that lost WWII. (Leaving aside, for the moment, Russia’s takeover of East Germany.)
This is a situation in which Gaza itself is not ready for an election. (They already tried that, and it led to Hamas.)
Are people in Gaza free to leave?
Haven’t been following it that closely, but I imagine not. (Plus, I’m not sure that any other country would take them.)
Were the citizens of Germany, Japan, and Italy allowed to leave after WWII? (I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that some of Germany’s “outstanding citizens” ended up in Argentina.)
So maybe that’s part of the reason, if they’re not yet allowed to leave. They don’t necessarily know “who is who” in Gaza.
I suspect that whomever Israel appoints to be in charge in Gaza is going to have their hands full for years, going forward.
There were probably a lot of Nazi sympathizers in Germany after WWII, as well.
So if people are confined to a de facto open air prison, deprived food and medical care, and starving to death, doesn’t that make it at least a de facto concentration camp?
“Haven’t been following it that closely”
Drives me crazy that you continually comment before educating yourself.
“Were the citizens of Germany, Japan, and Italy allowed to leave after WWII? ”
Yes, unless they were detained due to war crimes.
The comment I put forth is applicable and obvious. The only part that you “educated me” on is that the citizens of Germany, Japan, and Italy were allowed to leave after WWII, assuming that some country would take them.
How does your comment (or my supposed “lack of education”) change anything I wrote?
And what conditions do you suppose the non-combatants in Germany, Japan, and Italy faced during and after the war? (Maybe you should educate yourself on THAT.)
Ultimately, the truth is that if countries allow/support despots to come into power (and they start wreaking havoc on other countries, as well), the ENTIRE COUNTRY will likely end up suffering if they come up against a country more powerful than they are.
So if they’re going to go down that path, maybe they’d better ensure that they can win a war that they initiate.
And maybe the electorate itself should think about that in advance, as well.
“Are people in Gaza free to leave?” The answer is clearly no, for two reasons. The first one is that for all the posturing of Arab countries supporting the Palestinian cause, that support is either dead or moribund today. The recent proof is that the 22 Arab States that form the Arab League (no less), unanimously voted recently to disavow and condemn Hamas for the atrocities it committed and for prolonging the suffering of the people in Gaza. This is actually the culmination of a long process of disenchantement on their part given the Palestinians’ rejection of every peace offer made to them. The bottom line today is that no one, including Arab states, want them. Why? Because wherever they go they cause trouble. They have either tried to stage a coup d’état (Jordan), triggered a civil war (Lebanon), or participated in one (Syria), or were dumb enough (Arafat) to side with Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait, resulting in the explusion of 400,000 Palestinians. Egypt has built a barrier from Gaza that is impregnable because they do want any Palestinian to cross over their border. The second reason the Gaza people can’t leave is that neither Hamas nor many European countries want to facilitate what would quickly become a one-way exodus out of the hell hole Gaza has become because they know that once out of Gaza, Israel will not allow them to come back (and rightly so). So they prefer to let them live in misery for as long as Hamas is still standing. Israel is not to blame for that any more than it should be for the other aspects of that situation, as tragic as it may be.
Are the photos provided to be believed? Several media photos have already been outed as fake, staged and in at least one case the child actually had a condition that led to his thin bony structure.
“Netanyahu: Israel could sue New York Times over viral Gaza photo flap”
https://www.belgrade-news.com/townnews/politics/netanyahu-israel-could-sue-new-york-times-over-viral-gaza-photo-flap/article_b2222a0d-7d33-4a93-9dca-63143ff014e7.html
Then don’t go by the photos. Go by the Israel Human Rights report – link
The sooner that Israel fully takes over, the better-off the citizens of Gaza and Israel will be. Aid will flow, and the area will be rebuilt.
And the extremists that caused the problem will be gone.
And eventually, the populace itself will change.
That is pretty naïve
No, what’s naive is to go back to what to what everyone knows doesn’t work.
Which is ironic because we know this doesn’t work either.
Sounds like it’s hopeless, then. Didn’t work before, won’t work afterward.
Given your conclusion, why are we concerned about it, then?
Because human beings are suffering and dying
Yes, they are.
But when you say it’s hopeless, then how many tears should I or you shed?
(I, on the other hand, don’t think it’s hopeless – as I already noted.)
“”The sooner that Israel fully takes over, the better-off the citizens of Gaza and Israel will be. Aid will flow, and the area will be rebuilt.””
“That is pretty naïve”
No it is not. Keith is right. He’s realistic. There is nothing naïve about the elimination of Hamas leading to the liberation of the Gaza population from its lethal dictatorship. It’s quite obviously the only way to stop the war while making sure that Hamas can never rebuild its forces.
The report is from B’Tselem who is a far left organization. So are we supposed to take their report as the absolute truth?
I never said we should take anything as the absolute truth. That’s a strawman argument.
But it was YOU who provided the link to B’Tselem and said “GO BY”.
Clearly there is space between “go by” and “absolute truth”
If it’s not truthful in any way why would anyone want to “GO BY” that report?
“Go by”
“absolute truth”
“not truthful in any way”
You seem to be sliding the goal posts all over the place.
Let’s put some meat on this…
So let’s evaluate the claims…
The report is a well-sourced human-rights report whose factual picture broadly tracks what UN bodies and independent monitors have been reporting about Gaza (mass civilian deaths, starvation indicators, displacement, attacks around aid lines, detention/abuse).
Where people will disagree is the legal conclusion that these facts amount to “genocide,” which ultimately only a court like the ICJ can determine.
The report lays out evidence under the Genocide Convention’s acts (killings; serious bodily/mental harm; conditions of life calculated to destroy; preventing births; etc.), cites methodology, and weaves in Israeli policy statements and orders.
Key humanitarian claims—extreme hunger and famine risk, escalating malnutrition deaths, large-scale killing and destruction, shootings around aid distribution points—are consistent with recent IPC/UN alerts and major-wire reporting.
Where I think reasonable people can and will disagree agree is the leap from grave abuses to genocide turns on evidence of intent to destroy “in whole or in part,” which is contested. The ICJ has issued provisional measures and treated some rights under the Genocide Convention as plausible, but it has not (so far) adjudicated that Israel is committing genocide. That’s a higher bar and still pending.
B’Tselem has been accused of being politically motivated against Israel and is a major point of contention and a frequent
Apartheid label and language: Critics point to B’Tselem’s use of the term “apartheid” to describe Israel’s actions and policies as inherently political and anti-Zionist, aiming to delegitimize the state rather than provide neutral human rights analysis. They argue that the term misrepresents the complex situation and equates Israel to the racially discriminatory South African regime, says NGO Monitor.
“From the river to the sea” rhetoric: B’Tselem’s use of this phrase, which has been interpreted as advocating for the destruction of Israel, is seen by critics as evidence of a politically motivated agenda, according to NGO Monitor.
Focus on Israeli actions: Critics argue that B’Tselem’s reports consistently highlight alleged Israeli abuses and violations while downplaying or ignoring actions taken by Palestinian groups or other actors, leading to an unbalanced and politically biased portrayal, says NGO Monitor.
Engagement with international bodies: B’Tselem’s engagement with bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC) and various UN committees, which have been criticized for their perceived bias against Israel, is viewed as further evidence of B’Tselem’s political leanings, according to NGO Monitor.
Support for BDS campaigns: Critics also point to B’Tselem’s support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel as an example of its political activities, notes NGO Monitor.
Timing of reports: Some have questioned the timing of certain B’Tselem reports, suggesting they are released strategically to maximize political impact, according to ArabAmericanNews.
Controversial hiring choices: For instance, NGO Monitor noted the hiring of Simone Zimmerman, a co-founder of IfNotNow, a group known for its highly critical stance against Israel.
You’re speaking in generalities, where do you see the report being in error?
DG say: “The ICJ has issued provisional measures and treated some rights under the Genocide Convention as plausible, but it has not (so far) adjudicated that Israel is committing genocide. That’s a higher bar and still pending.”
And if the ICJ does declare it a ‘genocide’, does Hamas win?
The whole ‘is it a . . . ‘ argument is not the issue. The issue is that antizionists use the term in sentences as if it’s a given presupposition for the purpose of blaming and demonizing Israel. Whether it is defined as the “G” word by some ‘world court’ doesn’t change the situation in Gaza. Whether you want to ultimately blame Hamas, Israel, Jews, Netanyahu, Iran, the Palestinian people or Fritz the Cat is what using the “G” word or not is really about.
I want to blame Hamas for what they did on October 7 and the Israeli government for what they’ve done since.
B’Tselem is not a reliable source. It has been and remains consistently anti-Israel no matter what. I wouldn’t give a dime for anything they publish. They belong in the same category as Ha’aretz, the extreme left-wing Israeli paper that is constantly searching for anything that can depict Israel as the worst possible country. And when they can’t find anything, they make it up, like most of the western media.
RO say: “Haven’t been following it that closely, but I imagine not.”
You continue to say you don’t know much about stuff, and then commenting on it. This doesn’t matter on benign issues. This matters greatly in war and disinformation. I suggest on these matters you don’t comment. Please. Just stop.
RO say: “Seems to me that rather than comparing the people in Gaza to concentration camp victims, a better comparison would be the non-combatants in Germany, Japan, and Italy during WWII and its aftermath. And that Hamas could be compared to the Nazi party, and the leaders of Japan and Italy during that time. I see that Israel will now take over Gaza, much as the allies did in regard to the countries that lost WWII. (Leaving aside, for the moment, Russia’s takeover of East Germany.) This is a situation in which Gaza itself is not ready for an election. (They already tried that, and it led to Hamas.)”
And that is why. Just like so much of the far left, you use terms, labels, comparisons and simplifications of this war to other situations, and that just leads to more misunderstanding, misindformation and demonization. If you “aren’t following it that closely”, say nothing. Please. Please. Just stop.
David says: “This matters greatly in war and disinformation. I suggest on these matters you don’t comment.”
You must think that I (or the Vanguard) has the power to start/stop wars.
David says: “Please. Just stop.”
Nope – I stand by exactly what I said, and have sufficient knowledge to put forth comments on a blog. Also, you’re speculating that Israel’s takeover of Gaza won’t work, while SIMULTANEOUSLY acknowledging that their existing government is hostile and non-functioning. Don’t know what you have in mind other than “regime change”, but be sure to send your thoughts regarding “alternatives” to Netanyahu – I’m sure he’s waiting for your expertise.
So far, the only thing you’ve “clued me in on” is that the countries which lost WWII allowed their citizens to leave after the war was over. How is that even relevant, in regard to an ongoing war?
That was Alan Miller
Yes – just noticed that (sorry).
My response to Alan is the same as it would be to you. (And that’s not the first time he’s put forth a comment like that.)
Pretty sure that Netanyahu isn’t listening to Alan M’s “expertise”, either. Then again, I haven’t seen any expertise from anyone on here (nor have I seen it anywhere else). If “expertise” was in play, there wouldn’t be a war.
It’s a blog Alan M – relax.
It’s pretty obvious that forced regime change is what’s occurring, regardless.
Relax my arse, RO
DG and I finally agree on something – even if it is that a certainly commenter would benefit all others if that commenter would kindly . . .
I am not going to even attempt to go through and research for rebuttal multiple sub-topics in 3500 words and two-dozen links.
Suffice to say Malik Washington uses an image to depict the situation in Gaza that the New York times had to issue a ‘clarification’ on. As in the child appears the way they do not from starvation, but due to underlying diseases. A wider view of the same photo shows an older sibling who is not remotely skeletal. I also read that Israel flew this child to Italy for care. If that is incorrect I will retract.
Considering over a week has passed since the use of this photo to represent the situation in Gaza was debunked, I do not believe that Malik Washington could have possibly not known that fact. So why did Malik Washington use this anyway? Was it for emotional affect, as the New York Times shamefully did? Was it because, as the far-left has often done, ‘well, it may not be authentic, but it calls attention to the situation, and that’s more important than if the photo is real’.
Using misinformation, in text of photo form, is not a form of journalism. It discredits the author. In calls into question everything said in this article. Not that everything is untrue, much of it is true. But we know one thing was used for affect, and not as truth, so how do we know what is real in this article and what is not?
I appreciate the small gesture to how awful Hamas is, if at the end.
Clearly the situation for civilians in Gaza is horrible. What this really all boils down to is — do you, dear reader, believe Hamas is to blame, or Israel is to blame? Or maybe a bit of both? All the rest is noise. And there’s a lot of noise.
I had read that Gaza elected Hamas in the first place, though it sounds like the “choices” might not be that great:
“In 2006, Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections and assumed administrative control of Gaza Strip and West Bank. In 2007, Hamas led a military victory over Fatah, the secular Palestinian nationalist party, which had dominated the Palestinian National Authority.”
“Fatah is generally considered to have had a strong involvement in terrorism in the past, though unlike its rival Islamist faction Hamas, Fatah is no longer regarded as a terrorist organization by any government.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip_under_Hamas#:~:text=filling%20the%20void.-,Government%20and%20politics,dominated%20the%20Palestinian%20National%20Authority.
(I think I might even vote for Scott Wiener, if he was an alternative there. What a screwed-up part of the world. But at least they might consider the “former” terrorist organization, over the current/active one.)
DG say, “and the Israeli government for what they’ve done since.”
Curious DG, what do you think Israel should have done in response to October 7th?
It’s a fair question, Alan. I think it’s a difficult question to answer in part because a lot of what I think has gone wrong was present prior to October 7. At the very minimum they had to respond in such a way not to turn world opinion against them – after most of the world was sympathetic in the immediate aftermath.
“The world” – good one.
The United States is largely supportive – to the point of bombing Iran, to boot.
If October 7th happened to the U.S., a place like Gaza would be a giant, smoking hole in the ground before the “world” even has a chance to weigh-in.
Iran itself is pretty close to becoming a giant, smoking hole in the ground, though I found Trump’s successful effort to not escalate that to be impressive.
And Iran responded in kind (no surprise, there – see “giant hole in the ground” reference).
I was talking to Alan Miller
The thing that bothers me is that both the use of the term genocide and now this interpretation of the “Mantra” “Never Again” reek of cultural appropriation, as if to say, the Israelis are as bad as the Nazi’s. Of course the comparisons in the photos provided, showing the horrors of Gaza with less than 100,000 dead, can only be compared to the horrors of the holocaust if you recognize the 60-1 scale of the 6 million Jews, many of them my second cousins, killed by the Nazi’s during WW2. Still, I’ll be the first to say, every senseless death is one too many. So let’s all get off the high horse of righteousness and bring the hostilities in Gaza to an end. The sooner the better in my humble opinion. But here is the deal the siege of Gaza isn’t going to end until Hamas surrenders or is vanquished. The world is not coming to break through like the Allies did to break the siege of Leningrad in WW2. The question that remains, like it or not, is how many have to die before Hamas accepts reality?
As for the term (not a mantra) “Never Again” just like the term “From the river to the sea” means different things to different people. In this article the author has a different understanding of the term than I do. In my mind it means like Dylan Thomas wrote we will no longer go gently into that dark night. The “Night” in this case as described by Elie Weisel. We will not walk passively to a mass grave at Babi Yar. No, in my world, Never Again, means we will fight back if attacked.
Right arm, RG. As for, “The question that remains, like it or not, is how many have to die before Hamas accepts reality?”, I think the bigger question is how many have to die before the world understands the reality of Hamas?
This article is a really badly written hodge-podge of concepts, biased (and false) statements and allegedly supporting links that do nothing to make and support the repeated case that Israel is conducting a genocide in Gaza. I am really surprised that the Vanguard would accept this as journalism. I would give it an F- if we still had real journalism schools where balance and objectivity remain the guiding operating principles. Ever heard of Pallywood? After years and years of practice, what pretends to be Palestinian journalism has proven time and again to be utterly unreliable and in almost all cases easily debunked or proven false. That is, when one bothers to check and double-check what the Palestinian propaganda machine spits out every day.
The basic premise itself (that the Holocaust and the Gaza war are on a par) is simply obscene. On one side, we have six MILLION people exterminated in a systematic, organized and intentional program over several years (1.5 million of whom were children!), and on the other we have at most 10-15 thousand victims of the fighting in Gaza, numbers that are highly suspicious considering that a) the numbers the media worldwide keep repeating all originate from the “Palestinian Health Ministry”, i.e. Hamas, the very same people who committed the atrocities of October 7, 2023, who have proven since the beginning of the war that they don’t care at all about the health of the Palestinian people, who compile imaginary numbers that mix civilians and Hamas combatants (in civilian cloathes), numbers that no one on earth has been able to verify, and b) the overwhelming majority of the civilian casualties are the direct result of Hamas’ detestable and despicable habit of launching attacks from or stocking up weaponry in or in the immediate vicinity of civilian dwellings, hospitals, UNRWA schools and mosques, all designed to attract return Israeli fire that will cause these very victims, which can then be turned into accusations of intentional harm by the IDF.
Therefore, the fundamental element that differentiates the Holocaust from the Gaza war is the intention of the party committing an alleged genocide and/or war crimes. The Nazis’ intention was clearly spelled out at the Wannsee Conference in 1942. Similarly, Hamas’ intention was just as clearly spelled out in their 1988 “Charter”, illustrated by the October 7 massacre. There is nothing even remotely similar to these same monstruous documents to be found anywhere on the Israeli side. It follows that comparing the two is not only patently false, but also absurd.
“”No, what’s naive is to go back to what to what everyone knows doesn’t work.””
David M. Greenwald says: “Which is ironic because we know this doesn’t work either.”
What is ironic is that you’re projecting into the future a formula that has NOT been tried yet, so how would you know it “doesn’t work either”? That solution is the complete eradication of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza under a responsible Palestinian leadership, if one can ever emerge. Barring that, since what HAS been proven is that they seem incapable of behaving in a responsible manner to join the community of nations, then they shouldn’t have a State of their own, something that entails responsibilities as much as it comes with rights. You can’t one without the other.