Media Moves On While Netanyahu Continues To Bomb Palestinians
As the siege on Gaza enters its 11th month, here are the latest updates you need to know to help stop this genocide
The last three weeks of American news media has been dominated by Joe Biden withdrawing from reelection, Kamala Harris getting the Democratic nomination for President, and Tim Walz being tapped to run for Vice President. But critically, American media has comparatively ignored the ongoing genocide in Palestine, a genocide funded by U.S.tax dollars, and perpetuated by U.S. arms.
It is critical we do not look away. We instead must remain informed, aware, and educated on these atrocities—as only then can we have hope to stop these atrocities. Here are the crucial updates on the US funded genocide in Palestine that legacy media is refusing to center.
Let’s Address This.
Death Toll Rises, Displacement, and Journalists Killed
While Gaza Health Ministry estimates of deaths are nearly 40,000, The Lancet applies a more comprehensive analysis to account for people indirectly killed by the siege on Gaza, and places that ghastly number of deaths at 186,000 Palestinians killed. The Lancet reports:
In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.
Likewise, the UN estimates that 2 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced, reporting:
Around 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.1 million population – nine out of 10 people – are internally displaced, many multiple times. An estimated 43,580 are pregnant women. Each evacuation order upends lives, and in no place can survival be guaranteed. It also makes it more difficult for women and girls to access essential services, including the estimated 180 women who give birth every day.
With the deliberate beheading murder of Palestinian journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, the Netanyahu regime has now killed 165 journalists. This is more journalists killed than in all other global conflicts combined. As the Middle East Monitor reports:
Blast vests bearing the insignia “PRESS” protected their bodies. Minutes earlier they had updated the Al Jazeera newsroom with their location. None of this would save their lives when an Israeli drone strike blasted their car. The explosion blew off Al-Ghoul’s head – an image subsequently shared on social media. Al-Refee and Khalid Shawa, a boy who happened to be passing by on a bicycle, also died instantly. Unusually, we know that the killing was deliberate – because the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has admitted as much.
Polio, Torture, Rape, and Mass Graves
These human rights violations are simply staggering. And yet it gets worse. Health officials in Gaza have now detected polio in water supplies. This is due to a more than 10% drop in vaccination rates over the last year and underscores the severe public health crisis precipitated by this conflict. A vicious disease that had been eradicated is making a comeback as a direct result of this genocide. The World Health Organization reports:
Now, children trapped in Gaza face this same threat [of polio] and are left with nowhere to turn. Prior to the conflict, vaccination coverage was at 99%. Now that rate has dropped to 86%, which is dangerous as this provides pockets of unvaccinated children, where the virus can circulate.
These figures are not just statistics; they represent countless lives shattered and dreams extinguished. Dreams of girls like Hind Rajab, the innocent 6-year-old girl who the IDF mercilessly murdered by shooting her more than 335 times at close range. Or of a young man named Muhammed Bhar, a sweet soul with Down syndrome, brutally killed when the IDF mauled him to death with an attack dog.
These are not isolated incidents but part of a systematic genocide. Adding to the outrage is despite Biden’s recognition that Netanyahu lied to him about wanting to get hostages released, he’s continued to arm Netanyahu to bomb Palestinian civilians.
Last week Israelis violently rioted, demanding the right to rape Palestinian prisoners. Far from rhetoric, this was the argument ‘pro rape’ Israelis made—that because accused Palestinians might be terrorists, any action against them is justified. These protests erupted after it came to light that Israeli soldiers are systemically raping Palestinian prisoners in a secret torture camp located in the desert. Newly published video of the rape and torture is now making its rounds (content warning).
Just as horrifying, this week the Israeli military delivered the remains of 89 decaying Palestinian corpses, without explanation. Authorities have no idea who these individuals are, how they died, or under for what justifiable reason they were mass murdered? And that’s precisely the point—none of this is justifiable because genocide is never justified.
The Urgent Need to Enforce International and U.S. Law
The above is a brief nutshell of the ongoing atrocities being inflicted upon Palestinian civilians. It does not even begin to scratch the surface of Israel’s numerous and ongoing bombings of schools, hospitals, and designated safe zones in Gaza. Keep in mind, Hamas has long agreed to Israel’s demands to release all hostages and commit to an immediate ceasefire—but it is the Israeli government itself that is refusing to agree to its own terms.
The United States must urgently enforce international human rights law and the Leahy Laws, which prohibit U.S. assistance to foreign military units that commit gross human rights abuses. The genocide of Palestinians must be stopped, and those responsible held accountable. The Harris/Walz ticket has an opportunity to end the current disastrous policies, and instead uphold justice. They must not fail or delay to stop this genocide. We must invest in a future committed to justice and inclusion for all. Let us raise our voices to stop the genocide of Palestinians and ensure a future where every human being is treated with dignity and respect.
Each of us has a role to play. Advocate for policy changes, contact your member of congress, support human rights organizations, and educate others about the realities in Palestine. By coming together, we can make a difference and help build a world where justice prevails and every person’s rights are upheld.
I will continue to keep you informed on these developments that legacy media refuses to center. Subscribe below and continue to elevate your voice for the sake of justice.
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CNN Headline:
"State Dept calls for Israel to investigate allegations of ‘horrific’ sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees"
Something 'horrifically' wrong with this picture. Calling on the perpetrators to investigate themselves? And the complicitous U.S. government is all-of-a-sudden requesting investigations into decades-long criminal behavior of its ally - Israel? Hey - got a new joyous Blue Team ready to take over. Not to worry.
Qasim, just as there is no free, open, truthful press in this country - only a shamefully irresponsible and incompetent mouthpiece media - there is also an absence of any real and functional international court system with teeth that is able and willing to dispense evenhanded criminal justice globally. This is still the wild wild west where might makes right and the weak be damned. Greed trumps compassion and sanity, wealth and armaments trump respect and mercy, impunity trumps outrage. Only in such a dysfunctional world could rapacious, bloodthirsty, depraved entities like nazisrael, amerikkka and the rest thrive. That's why all of this mindless, depraved brutality is truly shocking by all with consciences, but not surprising from a historical perspective.