Uncomfortable questions about Gaza and Israel

War is terrible. The images coming out of Gaza bring tears to our eyes. We cringe when we see the massive destruction and the number of casualties rising daily. 

We can all agree that the violence in the region has to stop. But every time we start discussing why there’s violence in the first place, and who’s to blame, we get lost in the complications of this conflict. The arguments throw us back in history and confuse our common sense. 

So let’s simplify it just a little bit: One side aims for genocide, and the other side resists and fights to maintain its freedom. I’m sure you can guess which side is which. And I’m also sure you find this completely over-simplified, exaggerated, and one-sided. I mean, after all, there are two sides to every story, right? And both sides have blood on their hands.

Keep asking questions! 

I get it, you are against all forms of violence. Still, you feel the need to compare, so you can decide which side is less wrong. Here’s the thing, you don’t need to take sides. It’s not important that you take sides. But it is important that you stick to your own values. 

What’s important is that you understand the truth and don’t let yourself be swept away by popular, dangerous narratives. Ask questions that others don’t ask. Ask questions that feel uncomfortable. Ask questions that help expose who’s telling the truth, who’s hiding the truth, and who’s flat-out lying and when.

So let’s ask some of these questions.

Questions about the civilian death toll

At the time of writing this, these are the numbers:

Israel: 1400 not final because to this day (36 days after the massacre), not all bodies have been identified and no one knows for sure how many of the kidnapped are alive (not even the Red Cross), many are still missing. Among them 340 soldiers and other security personnel. An additional 38 soldiers were killed in the ground operation.

Gaza: maybe 10 000, maybe 11 000, maybe more, maybe less? The only numbers available are those provided by Hamas. No independent organization has access or information. Interestingly, Hamas refers to all of them as civilians, none of them seem to be combatants (?).

So, the Secretary General of the UN says, there must be something wrong with these numbers. He’s right! And this is where he should start asking questions.  Instead, these numbers keep getting tossed in our faces as if they prove something. Do they? If yes, exactly what do they prove?

US Congressman and military veteran Brian Mast asked some of the questions everybody should be asking:

Questions about the protection of civilians 

How many public bomb shelters are there?

Israel: Countless. 

1. Most apartment building in Israel has a bomb shelter.
2. There are public bomb shelters in every neighbourhood.
3. Every apartment built after 1992 includes a shelter room.
4. The Home Front command provides a variety of portable protected spaces and distributes them in public and residential areas.

Gaza: none

Are there any additional means of protecting the civilian population?

Israel: 

1. The missile-defence system ‘Iron Dome’ intercepts short-range missiles with 95% accuracy and covers the entire area of Israel.
   
2. Other systems against middle- and long-range missiles (i.e. Arrow).
   
3. About 100.000 people were instructed to leave their homes in dangerous areas and offered state-subsidised temporary residence in hotels and guesthouses throughout the country. 

Gaza: none

This begs the next very obvious question:

Why does Hamas do NOTHING to protect its civilians? 

I let you think about this for a while.

Take this into consideration: the conflict has been going on for years. There have been five major operations since Hamas took over control of Gaza in 2007. Each time Hamas claimed there was a high number of civilian casualties.

Yet, Hamas did not see it fit to allocate even a fraction of the millions of Dollars and Euros they received from the EU, the US, Qatar and elsewhere to the protection of its civilians. Why?

The population remains poor and unprotected. Hamas leaves Gazan civilians exposed to potentially deadly air raids, despite claiming that Israel is the aggressor and deliberately targets civilians.

If Israel is so vicious, then why the hell do they not protect their own people from them? (If you are interested in the answer, you’ll be surprised at what one Hamas spokesman had to say about it. Read till the end)

Why does no one, including the UN, DEMAND that Hamas protect its citizens?

Liberal countries, as well as fundamental Islamic republics all pump every possible currency into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. They all claim to care about the Gazan civilian population. Everyone is acutely aware of the explosive situation and the recurring ‘armed clashes’. 

Yet, none of the generous donors, no human rights organization, and no pro-Palestinian activist ever thought to demand that Hamas do something to protect their civilians. What is the problem saying, “You get money on the condition that you invest it in building public bunkers.”? 

Instead, the protection of Gazan civilians is perceived to be the responsibility of the Israeli army.

This leads to an absurd situation. A situation that encourages Hamas terrorists to sacrifice their own population for their cause.

The higher the number of civilian casualties on their side, the louder the condemnation of Israel. The more suffering, the more sympathy, support, and eventually aid from the West and the liberal world. 

This brings me back to the previous question. Why protect innocent civilians if their dead bodies are so beneficial for propaganda and budget? 

What do the sides do to prevent civilian casualties on the enemies’ side?

IDF: 

1. IDF distributes hundreds of leaflets from the air in areas that are about to be attacked to warn civilians and give them the chance to evacuate.
2. IDF calls people directly on their mobile devices (as much as that is possible) and sends text messages to warn them about air strikes.
3. Israel established safe corridors to allow safe passage of residents from the war zones in northern Gaza to the south of Gaza.
4. Airstrikes are frequently abandoned when it’s obvious that civilians might be harmed. 

 

5. “Roof-knocking”: a non-explosive device is dropped on the roof of a building before it is targeted by the Air Force. Anyone in the building has time to evacuate. This practice has been used over the past 15 years, however was abandoned after the October 7th massacre. 

Hamas: (seriously?)

And still, the casualties on the Gazan side seem extraordinarily high to you? You’re saying that, if the IDF does all this, how come so many are killed?

Why don’t we take a look at some of the aggressive actions the sides have taken.

What aggressive actions have been taken?

Israel: Target Hamas infrastructure and operatives.

Hamas:

1. Broke the ceasefire that ended operation “Breaking Dawn” in August 2022 (in fact, they broke all ceasefires that ended previous operations. Even during periods of ceasefire, the southern part of Israel has been subjected to random, sporadic attacks, to which Israel did not react.)
2. Masacered civilians and soldiers with unspeakable cruelty (shooting them in their homes, tieing together children and families and burning them alive, mass-raping women, cutting off hands, feet, and genitals and letting people bleed to death slowly in agony, plucking out eyes, beheading babies and grown-ups, baking babies in cooking ovens while raping their mother on the kitchen floor in front of it, …)
3. Randomly took 240 hostages (babies, children, wounded, handicapped, old people, holocaust survivors,…)
   
   
4. Fire rocket barriers at densely populated civilian areas, including hospitals and schools (Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon has been hit several times – if you haven’t read about this, it’s probably because there were no casualties because the patients had been moved underground for safety).
5. Spread lies and falsy accuse Israel (for example: claimed a hospital in Gaza was hit by the Israeli airforce killing 500 people, which later turned out to be false information. A Hamas rocket exploded in the parking lot of the hospital and no one knows what damage was caused and if people were hurt).
6. Attack the IDF troops while they are preparing the safe corridor for civilians.

How do they treat their own population?

Israel: 

1. See above
2. Investigate claims about settler violence against Palestinians and bring them to justice.
3. Allow free speech, and openly discuss their actions.

Hamas: 

Use the civilian population as human shields:

1. Prevent people from leaving their homes and move to the southern part of Gaza for safety. They even keep them from getting the food that is brought in as part of the human aid. 
2. Encourage civilians to sacrifice themselves by standing on the roof in time of airstrikes.
3. Setup roadblocks to prevent people from moving to the safer southern part of the Gaza Strip.
4. Use public buildings such as schools, hospitals, and mosques for ammunition and weaponry storage.
5. Launch rockets from residential areas, including schoolyards, private properties, kindergartens etc.
6. The “Gaza Metro”: an estimated 500 km underground tunnel system for Hamas use, protecting themselves and leaving the civilian population exposed above the ground.
7. Manage their operations from command centres underneath hospitals. 
8. Threaten and kill whoever speaks up against them, criticises, or questions their actions.

This might be a good time to ask yourself, if you care about the Palestinian civilians, should you support Hamas? 

Questions about genocide claims

I don’t even know where to start this one. But I promised I would keep this simple, so I’ll stick to some simple facts and numbers: 

• Palestinian Arabs living in Israel with Israeli citizenship: close to 1.9 mil (21% of the population), among them 82% Muslims (18% of Israel’s population). 
• Jews living in Palestinian-ruled Gaza: 0
• Gazans working in Israel: 17.000 (in August ‘22. The number varies depending on the security situation. In the weeks preceding the Oct, 7th massacre, the number of Gazan workers who entered Israel daily, was higher).
• Jews working in Gaza: 0
• Under what circumstances are Gazans allowed to enter Israel: Gazans can obtain permits to enter Israel for work, medical treatment or other humanitarian cases. 
• Can Jews enter Gaza? No
• Can Arab Muslims serve in the IDF? Yes, and they do. Also, many Bedouines, and Druse. 
• How many Palestinians are members of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament): currently 10 (full historic list here).
• Can Arab Muslims become judges in Israel? Yes, for example: Supreme Court judge Khaled Kabub.
• Can they become doctors, policemen, managers, or anything they want in Israel? Yes, Palestinians with Israeli citizenship have full, equal rights, including social service, unemployment etc.

Maybe the most important figure to look at is this: According to Wikipedia “The growth rate of the Arab population in Israel is 2.2%, while the growth rate of the Jewish population in Israel is 1.8%.”

And here’s a comparison chart I found on Statista, containing data from the UN:

Source Statista – Palestine and Israel population growth 

I think the point is clear. The whole genocide debate is completely ridiculous. Unfortunately, there’s nothing funny about it. And maybe the saddest thing about it is that – as you can see from the sources I shared – all the information is just a Google search away.  

What do they want?

At the beginning of this article, I claimed that one side aims for genocide while the other defends itself.

What does Israel want?

Israel defends its very existence. Whether you (or me or anyone) agree that the Jews are entitled to this tiny piece of land as their homeland is completely irrelevant. No one asks us for our opinion on whether Germans are entitled to a German state, or Lebanese to their country. Fact is, Israel exists as a sovereign state, just like the United States or China. All that Israel wants is to live in peace and expand its position as the start-up nation and leader in high-tech. 

What does Hamas want?

The Hamas has been in full control of the Gaza Strip since 2007, when the Gazan population voted them into power. This came after Israel withdrew in 2005 and left the PLO (today called Fatah and ruling in the Westbank, in charge). 

Israel has no control over anything that happens inside Gaza. Whatever lack of freedom Gazans may experience inside Gaza, is completely outside the influence of Israel. In the south, Gaza shares a border with Egypt that is equally heavily guarded and secured.

You might think the claim they aim for genocide is a bit far-fetched or islamophobic or hysteric. If that’s the case, you should probably Google the term “Hamas Charter”. 

This document leaves no room for speculation as to the intentions of the organization. Hamas is a deeply religious fundamentalistic organization with the goal to kill the Jews, who are supported by imperialist forces (capitalist in the west and communict in the east). Hamas members must devote their lives to Allah and be willing to die in his name. Becoming a martyr, in other words, dying for the cause is the highest achievement to strive for.

They do not want peace. Take THEIR word for it, not mine. Article 13 states:“There is no negotiated settlement possible. Jihad is the only answer.” 

These ‘freedom fighters’ have now taken off their masks and are making more bold claims. Ghazi Hamad, a member of the organization’s politburo was very straightforward in his recent interview on Lebanese TV and declared Hamas would repeat the Oct, 7th massacre over and over again until Israel is annihilated. “We must remove the country.” He’s proud to sacrifice martyrs and calls the Palestinians a nation of martyrs.

He goes on to blame Israel for everything bad that’s going on and “for all the things that we do […] it is justified.” So, not only was Israel victim of the most horrific massacre in recent human history, but it’s also their own fault. Here’s the interview with Hamad.

Epilogue

I promised an answer to the question why Hamas doesn’t protect its civilians. Here’s what another Hamas spokesperson, Mousa Abu Marsouk came up with. Civilians aren’t Hamas’ responsibility, but the UN’s because 75% of them are refugees. I’m still trying to find someone who can explain this distortion of reality to me. Here’s the interview with Abu Marsouk.  

There are still many unanswered questions. About the support for Hamas, about how involved civilians were in the massacre. What’s the story with the ‘occupation’ and the ‘settlements’? Why the ‘blockade’ on Gaza? How do Gazans earn their livelihood – is there agriculture or industry? And who runs Gaza anyway? 

I’ll leave that for another post. But I do want to share with you one last short video clip I came across while writing this article. I think it adds a little bit of perspective and demonstrates the ideological depth. Here are some examples of teaching materials in UNWRA schools in Gaza: how they learn Grammar, Math, and science.

 

Update 14.11.: A tour inside Rantissi hospital, Gaza.

 

(Cover Image source: TimeToStandWithIsrael)