Has there ever been a conflict where one side was so openly attacking hospitals and targeting journalists while our government and media refused to use the word “genocide”? Has there ever been a genocide this blatant that they’ve remained in denial about, even as they’ve admitted atrocities are taking place?
In January, Wes Streeting described South Africa’s genocide case at the ICJ as a “distraction”, for god’s sake. A distraction from what exactly? From slaughtering innocent people? Isn’t that a good thing? Why wouldn’t we want to distract Israel from the terrible things it’s doing?
An EU foreign policy chief has conceded Israel is using “starvation as a weapon of war” and “Gaza is an open air graveyard” so WHY ISN’T THE EU USING THE WORD “GENOCIDE”? How the hell is weaponised starvation anything other than a genocidal act? It’s no different from denying that sending people into gas chambers is a genocidal act. I can only assume the EU’s reluctance to use that word is because they don’t think it counts as genocide when Palestinians are the victims. Either that or they’re terrified of Israel, given the EU diplomat has been accused of “emboldening Hamas”.
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It seems everyone is terrified of Israel, but at least some people have the moral courage to speak up, even if they might get in trouble. UNRWA chief Phillipe Lazzarini said: "This manmade starvation under our watch is a stain on our collective humanity." He has confirmed more than 150 UNRWA facilities in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, and UNRWA staff have been tortured by the IDF.
Israel claims it’s allowing aid into Gaza, but the UN Food Programme has only managed to get aid in by land once in three weeks and the attempts to get aid past Israel’s blockade are reaching farcical levels. An airdrop recently landed on the roof of a tall building, leaving it inaccessible, but Melanie Phillips thinks the claims of hunger are Hamas propaganda.
Oxfam reports that Israel blocks its aid at the border, and if anything is allowed through, its trucks are targeted by the IDF, and if the trucks get to their destination, people are targeted when they try to get the aid. In other words, Israel is doing everything it can to ensure civilians die, including killing the people who try to feed them. No wonder the IPC is seeing the highest level of food insecurity it’s ever recorded.
One in three children under two are acutely malnourished, which is another way of saying they are close to death because it does not take malnourished toddlers long to die. The ones who are eating are hardly enjoying decent meals because flour is pretty much the only thing reaching people. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with flour.
The mass starvation is only one aspect of what’s taking place because the IDF has launched yet another attack on a hospital. I can only assume they heard a hospital was partly functional and got really mad. Don’t worry though, it does not count as a genocidal act because nothing Israel does to Palestinians counts as a genocidal act.
The IDF is massacring people at Al Shifa hospital again and pretending that Hamas is stationed there in a feeble attempt to justify their war crimes. If you believe them at this point, there really is no lie from Israel you won’t believe. They are dictating your thoughts and your thoughts are detached from reality.
The world’s most moral army is refusing to take part in the UN’s investigation into whether UNRWA members were involved in the October 7th attacks. The IDF has failed to provide evidence to support their accusations, as confirmed by an EU humanitarian chief. Israel even blocked the head of UNRWA, Phillipe Lazzarini, from entering Gaza, as confirmed by both UNRWA and Egypt. The Egyptian foreign minister described this as “ an unprecedented move for [a] representative at this high position".
It’s almost like Israel has something to hide, isn’t it? They’ve just kidnapped Al Jazeera journalists after beating them senseless and destroying their vehicles and equipment to stop them reporting on the atrocities at Al Shifa. One journalist reported from inside the hospital this might be his last video as Israel attacked.
The IDF ordered an immediate evacuation from the hospital, but they continued shooting people during the evacuation. Given that 25-30,000 civilians are sheltering in the surrounding area, the death toll could soon be unthinkable. Many images and videos of casualties, including children, are emerging. Over 150 civilians have been abducted by the IDF and medical staff have been beaten and abused. Two explosions have been heard coming from inside the complex and dozens of people have been reported dead so far. Even more worrying, Israel has already sent the bulldozers in. I dread to think what is happening to the poor people who couldn’t evacuate, but the dead babies in incubators from the last attack are etched in my memory. How many massacres is it going to take before our political class accept this is a genocide?The last working-class hero in England.
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