Drop Site News reports: “Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinians of Gaza has now entered its sixteenth month. Despite the fact that outgoing President Joe Biden has been telling the public since May that a ceasefire was on the horizon, he and his administration have enabled a sustained campaign of diplomatic sabotage by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed 51 more Palestinians over 24 hours. Since other countries like Brazil have considered legal action against Israeli soldiers, the Jerusalem Post reports: “IDF: From now on, nearly all soldiers will be blurred in media interviews.”
FEROZESIDHWA, feroze.sidhwa@gmail.com, @FerozeSidhwa
Dr. Sidhwa is a trauma surgeon who volunteered at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. See his “65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza” published by the New York Times and accuracy.org news release: “U.S. Doctors Back From Gaza: Israeli Marksmen Shooting Children in the Head.”
U.S. and Israeli officials have attempted to justify Israel’s devastation of Gaza by claiming Hamas makes extensive use of human shields. Antony Blinken has claimed that Hamas has “cynically and monstrously, deliberately has people – men, women, and children — as human shields. And Trump’s nominee for the same position Marco Rubio: “If civilians are in those strongholds, it’s because Hamas has placed themselves there.”
Dr. Sidhwa wrote the piece “Based on extensive investigations in previous conflicts, reporters should treat Israeli claims of Palestinians using human shields with extreme skepticism.” Also see from Craig Mokhiber: “Every accusation a confession: Israel and the double lie of ‘human shields,’” which states: “Multiple human rights reports show that Palestinian armed groups do not use human shields, but Israel does. Israel’s false claims about Palestinian human shields are just attempts to justify its own targeting of civilians.”
Dr. Sidhwa can talk about specific patients he treated who are now traumatized and broken, see talk from Wednesday. He says: “Israel is attempting to depopulate Gaza by making life unlivable. Gaza was thought to be virtually uninhabitable before Oct 7. Now, it’s something akin to the Warsaw Ghetto. There’s substantial evidence the Israeli military has targeted children as well as healthcare workers. One in 20 healthcare workers are killed. There’s no other conflict like that. Israel has destroyed the entire healthcare system. Beyond that, the sewage system has been destroyed. Even talking about getting people medicine is hollow when they don’t have a sewage system.”