Hiding in Hospitals & Stealing Aid?

Debunking two of the most common allegations used to whitewash the Israeli government's genocide and holocaust of the Palestinian people

This week I published a now viral piece demonstrating the horrifying reality that the Israeli government’s assault on Gaza is no no longer ‘just’ a genocide—it is also a holocaust. In response I received overwhelming affirmation and support from pro-justice activists and readers—Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and atheist, American and European, Palestinian and Israeli.

I also received a minority of incessant voices claiming that Hamas is somehow causing this holocaust by stealing and and hiding in hospitals. Even if these two allegations were true, they would do nothing to ‘justify’ a holocaust. But moreover, the facts show that these are demonstrably false claims being levied by the Israeli government and corporate media to whitewash a holocaust—and anyone committed to justice should reject them outright. Here are the receipts. Let’s Address This.

CLAIM: Gaza is starving because Hamas is stealing aid

Fact Check: In reality, all the evidence points to the Israeli government and illegal Israeli settlers blocking aid to Palestinians, so much so that Israeli civilians themselves are standing up to their own government to help ensure aid gets through.

International human rights law mandates that an occupying military ensures access to aid, food, and life’s necessities for the people they are occupying. The Netanyahu regime is in grotesque violation of this international obligation. Notwithstanding the incessant bombing and burning of Palestinian civilians—Netanyahu is actively and perpetually blocking aid to starve Palestinians to death. Since this January, after breaking the ceasefire agreement he agreed to, Netanyahu unilaterally reignited the bombing, and is cutting off food, medicine, and water to a population of people in Gaza he’s already spent the past 20 months brutalizing.

But it’s Hamas that’s stealing the aid, right?

It’s a claim we’ve heard throughout the past 20 months with no actual evidence. Instead and on the contrary, Cindy McCain, the widow of Senator John McCain and executive director of the World Food Programme, made it unequivocally clear just this week: the Israeli government—not Hamas—is blocking aid into Gaza. In her words, “We have had no instances of Hamas stealing food.” Her statement directly contradicts the propaganda being peddled by the Israeli government and parroted by its defenders.

This matters. Because under the Fourth Geneva Convention, it is a war crime for an occupying power to block humanitarian aid. Specifically, Articles 49, 51, 55, 56, and 59 make clear the occupying power has a legal obligation to ensure that food, water, and medical aid reach civilians.

Instead, Netanyahu’s government is doing the opposite. They are using starvation, dehydration, and now incineration as tools of warfare. In just the past five days, the number of hot meals served by community kitchens has dropped 70%—from 840,000 meals to just 260,000—all for a population of nearly 2 million people. And as mentioned, Israelis themselves are sick of Israeli settlers blocking aid, and are putting themselves in harms way to ensure aid gets through.

Meanwhile, the media allowed to report on the blockade repeatedly affirm that it is not Hamas, but the Israeli government and Israeli settlers blocking aid. A US envoy further confirmed that while Israel repeatedly claims Hamas is blocking aid, the Israeli government has yet to show any evidence confirming this allegation:

Israel has not presented specific evidence for its claim that Hamas is diverting U.N. aid, and its recent targeted killings of Gaza police commanders safeguarding truck convoys have made it “virtually impossible” to distribute the goods safely, a top U.S. envoy said in rare public criticism of Israel.

In short, those who perpetuate this myth succeed only in whitewashing a holocaust and genocide—a horribly shameful act as innocent Palestinians continue to suffer and die. Such people should stop pretending Hamas is blocking aid, and start working with the rest of us working for justice to demand the Israeli government stops blocking aid.

CLAIM: Hamas Is Hiding in Hospitals

Fact Check: The old refrain remains, “Israel is acting in self-defense. Hamas is hiding in hospitals. What do you expect Israel to do?” As with the claim of stealing aid, the Israeli government has presented no evidence confirming this allegation. It is false. These so-called justifications collapse under even the lightest scrutiny.

First, I expect the Israeli government to not bomb hospitals as they are protected under international human rights law. No sane person would justify bombing a hospital in Tel Aviv, London, or New York, even if it were discovered with absolute certainty that Hamas generals were hiding inside. The ‘justification’ to bomb hospitals in Gaza on the mere accusation that Hamas is ‘hiding inside’ is in reality a declaration that the Israeli government does not deem Palestinians as human beings. This is not hyperbole, given that Israeli leadership has already referred to Palestinians as “human animals” and is demonstrably committing a holocaust.

Second, the evidence shows that Hamas was never ‘hiding in hospitals.’ A thorough UN investigation tackled this important question. International Human Rights Law makes it explicitly clear that hospitals and medical institutions are protected from attack. The exception that IHL recognizes is when a hospital or medical facility is used:

Outside their humanitarian functions [and] "act harmful to the enemy". In case of doubt as to whether medical units of establishments are used to commit an "act harmful to the enemy", they should be presumed not to be so used.

Of immense significance, IHL clarifies that when in doubt—hospitals and medical institutions must remain protected. At the time of the aforementioned UN report, the Israeli military had bombed 110 hospitals and medical centers in Gaza, claiming Hamas was ‘hiding inside.’ This means that in bombing 110 healthcare facilities, the Israeli military should have had explicitly clear knowledge that Hamas was using these facilities as “command-and-control” centers in violation of IHL. And if the Israeli government had explicitly clear knowledge, then they should have zero trouble providing ample evidence, example after example, that Hamas is using hospitals in violation of IHL.

But what does the reality show us? It shows that on the contrary, the detailed UN Commission concluded no such evidence of Hamas hiding in hospitals:

Israeli security forces asserted that over 85% of major medical facilities in Gaza were used by Hamas for terror operations, but did not provide evidence to substantiate that claim. Israeli security forces alleged that there were tunnels underneath or connected to hospitals, and that Hamas stored weapons, hid personnel and operated headquarters from within and underneath hospitals. The Commission interviewed senior medical personnel at hospitals and they denied that there was any military activity, emphasizing that the hospitals’ only role was to treat patients.

Let’s unpack this. The Israeli military first claims that 85% of the 110 medical facilities it targeted were used for “Hamas terror operations.” That means that it admits 15% of the medical facilities it targeted had no Hamas terror operations, but the Israeli military targeted them anyway. That in and of itself is a clear admission of war crimes. And that is all that should be necessary for the US Government, indeed the global West, to stop arming Netanyahu.

But adding to these war crimes is that even in the “85% (allegedly) legitimate targets,” the Israeli government could provide no evidence to substantiate its claims. None. Not one single example. The UN Commission found zero evidence from the Israeli government, or from a single senior medical personnel at the hospitals that any military activity occurred at the hospitals that the Israeli military bombed. Yet, the bombings continue, in complete violation of IHL. And given that these bombings are deliberate and intentional, this satisfies the “intent” element of proving genocide.

Indeed, beyond war crimes, the Israeli military bombing 110 hospitals and medical centers in Gaza, while knowing full well they are not Hamas military command centers, proves they are intentionally killing Palestinian civilians. That is genocide. And that this mass killing has become systematic, intentional, and fire-based to burn civilians alive makes this by definition a holocaust.

Conclusion

I am hopeful the receipts presented above help you debunk those who might be misinformed in your circles. The fact is that it is not Hamas stealing aid and hiding in hospitals, but the Israeli government who is blocking aid and bombing hospitals. As a result, we are witnessing a holocaust that the Israeli government is attempting to shroud in a mass campaign of disinformation. That mass disinformation enables a mass-scale, intentional, systematic campaign of death—by bombing, by starvation, by dehydration, by denial of medical care, and by fire. Children are being burned alive in their sleep. Civilians are being denied food and medicine while the perpetrators openly admit their intentions and dare the world to stop them. And the world—our own government included—continues to send weapons, money, and silence.

We must demand an end to these atrocities.

As a human rights lawyer, I write this not for shock value, but because language matters, justice matters, and truth matters. I am grateful to each of you for allowing me to continue this work without paywalls, and without fear. You are the reason over 25 million people have read this human rights newsletter, and why this platform continues to grow. You are the reason we are able to hold power to account when corporate media stays quiet. And you are the reason I know we are not alone in this fight for justice.

Please, continue to read, share, subscribe, and speak out. Justice demands it.