2025-06-18 Israel hate mail
===========================

I got my first comment regarding my position on Israel in a very, very
long time. It wondered why I had not blogged anything about the
situation in October 2023.

Well, what can I say?

Back then, I did not know that Israel was going to kill so many
civilians in bloody revenge.

> On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led militant groups launched a surprise
> attack on Israel, in which 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals,
> including 815 civilians, were killed, and 251 taken hostage with the
> stated goal of forcing Israel to release Palestinian prisoners.
> After clearing militants from its territory, Israel launched a
> bombing campaign and invaded Gaza on 27 October with the stated
> objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages. Israeli
> forces launched numerous campaigns during the invasion, including
> the Rafah offensive from May 2024, three battles fought around Khan
> Yunis, and the siege of North Gaza from October 2024, and have
> assassinated Hamas leaders inside and outside of Gaza. A temporary
> ceasefire in November 2023 broke down, and a second ceasefire in
> January 2025 ended with a surprise attack by Israel in March 2025.
>
> Since the start of the Israeli offensive, over 55,000 Palestinians
> in Gaza have been killed, over half of them women and children, and
> more than 128,000 Palestinians have been injured. A study in The
> Lancet estimated 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injuries by June
> 2024, while noting a larger potential death toll when "indirect"
> deaths are included. Israel's tightened blockade of Gaza cut off
> basic necessities, causing a severe hunger crisis with a high risk
> of famine persisting as of May 2025. By early 2025, Israel had
> caused unprecedented destruction in Gaza and made large parts of it
> uninhabitable, leveling entire cities and destroying hospitals
> (including children's hospitals), agricultural land, religious and
> cultural landmarks, educational facilities, and cemeteries. Gazan
> journalists, health workers, aid workers and other members of civil
> society have been detained, tortured and killed. Nearly all of the
> strip's 2.3 million Palestinian population have been forcibly
> displaced. Over 100,000 Israelis were internally displaced at the
> height of the conflict.
>
> -- Gaza war

I mean, the numbers speak for themselves. Take a look at the
Humanitarian Situation Updates by the United Nations. Just recently,
from Humanitarian Situation Update #292 | Gaza Strip:

> Between 20 and 26 May, incidents resulting in a large number of
> fatalities include the following:

* On 20 May, at about 04:00, at least nine Palestinians, including
  five children and one woman, were reportedly killed when a house was
  hit in Jabalya refugee camp, in North Gaza.

* On 20 May, at about 01:10, 13 Palestinians, including children and
  women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was
  hit in eastern Deir al Balah.

* On 20 May, at about 01:39, 15 Palestinians from the same family,
  including 11 females (two women and nine others of unconfirmed age),
  were reportedly killed and others injured when the gas station the
  family was living in after being displaced was hit in eastern An
  Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah.

* On 20 May, at around midnight, at least 11 people were reportedly
  killed and several others injured, and some were reported missing,
  when a house was hit in Jabalya al Balad, in North Gaza. Fatalities
  included a father, his two sons, his daughter, and his
  granddaughter.

* On May 20, three Palestinians, including two men (brothers) and one
  woman were reportedly killed and 15 others injured when tents for
  internally displaced people (IDP) were hit in Al Mawasi area of
  western Rafah.

* On 21 May, at about 11:00, eight Palestinians, including a girl,
  were reportedly killed and about 60 others were injured when a group
  of people was hit east of Gaza city.

* On 21 May, at about 04:15, at least 13 Palestinians – three married
  couples and their seven offspring, including five children – were
  reportedly killed when a residential building was hit and destroyed
  in Abasan al Kabira, in Khan Younis.

* On 22 May, at about 02:26, 10 Palestinians, members of the same
  family, including three children and three women, were reportedly
  killed when a warehouse sheltering IDPs was hit in Al Birkeh area of
  southwestern Deir al Balah.

* On 22 May, at about 05:00, at least 16 people of the same family,
  including 10 children and two women, were reportedly killed when two
  houses were hit in Jabalya al Balad, in North Gaza.

* On 21 May, at about 11:30, 10 Palestinians were reportedly killed
  and several others injured when a wood-fired oven, functioning as a
  community bakery, was hit in central Gaza city.

* On 26 May, at about 02:15, at least 17 Palestinians including four
  women, and at least five children, were reportedly killed when a
  house was hit in eastern Jabalya, in North Gaza.

* On 26 May, at about 00:30, about 36 Palestinians, including at least
  six children and other women, were reportedly killed, with many
  bodies reportedly severely burned after three classrooms of a school
  sheltering hundreds of IDPs were hit in Ad Daraj neighbourhood, in
  eastern Gaza city, causing a massive fire.

Or how about Humanitarian Situation Update #294 | Gaza Strip? Here's
a high-level view malnutrition spreading:

> The nutritional situation of children continues to deteriorate.
> According to the Nutrition Cluster, preliminary analysis indicates
> that out of 46,738 children under five years of age who were
> screened for malnutrition in the second half of May, 2,733 (5.8 per
> cent) were diagnosed with acute malnutrition. This is up from 4.7
> per cent in the first half of May and almost triple the proportion
> of children diagnosed with malnutrition out of those screened in
> February 2025, during the ceasefire. Overall, since January,
> Nutrition Cluster partners detected and enrolled over 16,500
> children under five for treatment of severe acute malnutrition
> (SAM), including 141 cases with complications who needed to be
> hospitalized. Overall, in May, 7.5 per cent of SAM cases needed
> hospitalization for complications, compared with only three to four
> per cent in the preceding two months, showing an increase in number
> of severe cases. Yet, there are currently only four stabilization
> centres for the treatment of SAM cases with medical complications in
> the Gaza Strip, including two in Deir al Balah, one in Khan Younis,
> and one in Gaza city. Stabilization centres in North Gaza and Rafah
> have been forced to suspend operations, leaving children in these
> areas without access to lifesaving treatment. Moreover, analysis of
> available data for pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) confirms
> that there has been a sharp deterioration in their nutritional
> status in the last two months; in May, acute malnutrition was
> detected in 17 per cent of screened PBW in Gaza governorate and in
> 18 per cent of screened PBW in Deir al Balah, compared with less
> than 10 per cent in these two governorates in February and March.

Or do you prefer the day-by-day violence? Humanitarian Situation
Update #296 | Gaza Strip has some of that, again:

> Between 5 and 9 June, deadly incidents included the following:

* On 5 June, at about 13:30, nine Palestinians were reportedly killed
  and others injured when a group of people was hit near Al Shifa
  tower, northwest of Gaza city.

* On 6 June, at about 11:15, a Palestinian female was reportedly
  killed and several others injured when a school housing internally
  displaced people (IDPs) was hit in Jabalya Al Balad, in North Gaza.

* On 6 June, at about 11:45, at least 10 Palestinians were reportedly
  killed and several others injured during heavy artillery shelling on
  Jabalya al Balad, in North Gaza, including residential buildings and
  an IDPs centre.

* On 7 June, at about 14:00, eight Palestinians, including two
  children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a group of
  people was hit in Jabalya an Nazlah, in North Gaza.

* On 7 June, at about 18:00, six Palestinians were reportedly killed
  and others injured when two houses were hit in Jabalya al Balad, in
  North Gaza.

* On 7 June, at about 5:00, seven Palestinians from the same family,
  including a mother and her four children, were reportedly killed
  when a residential building was hit in Gaza city.

* On 9 June, at about 9:50, six Palestinians including two females
  were reportedly killed and others injured when an IDP tent was hit
  in Al Mawasi area in Khan Younis.

* Between 1 and 9 June, at least 21 incidents were reported where IDP
  tents were allegedly hit, resulting in the reported killing of about
  73 people and the injury of tens of others.

Oh, and think of this:

> According to WHO, more than 10,000 patients, including over 4,000
> children, remain in urgent need of medical evacuation.

If somebody needs reminding of the scale of this bloody revenge, let
them read these dry reports.

And for context, Wikipedia is here to help.

* 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis: "As a result of the violence, at
  least 256 Palestinians, including 66 children, were killed
  (including at least seven from friendly fire). In Israel, at least
  13 people were killed, including two children. The Gaza Ministry of
  Health reported that more than 1,900 Palestinians were injured, and
  as of 12 May, at least 200 Israelis were reported to have been
  injured. As of 19 May, at least 72,000 Palestinians have been
  displaced."

* 2014 Gaza War: "The war resulted in over two thousand deaths, the
  vast majority of which were Gazan Palestinians. This includes a
  total of six Israeli civilians who were killed as a result of the
  conflict."

* 2012 Gaza War: "Israel. Civilians: 4 killed, 219 injured.
  Combatants: 2 killed, 20 wounded. Palestine. Civilians: 105 killed,
  971 wounded … Combatants: 55 killed, 29 wounded" (claimed,
  respectively)"

* Gaza War (2008–2009): "The conflict resulted in 1,166–1,417
  Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths."

* Nakba: "During the foundational events of the Nakba in 1948,
  approximately half of Palestine's predominantly Arab population, or
  around 750,000 people, were expelled from their homes or made to
  flee through various violent means, at first by Zionist
  paramilitaries, and after the establishment of the State of Israel,
  by its military. Dozens of massacres targeted Palestinian Arabs and
  over 500 Arab-majority towns, villages, and urban neighborhoods were
  depopulated. Many of the settlements were either completely
  destroyed or repopulated by Jews and given new Hebrew names. Israel
  employed biological warfare against Palestinians by poisoning
  village wells. By the end of the war, 78% of the total land area of
  the former Mandatory Palestine was controlled by Israel."

Or read a book. I've read a book by Alain Gresh on Israel and
Palestine. I've read a book or two by Noam Chomsky on Israel,
Palestine. Le Monde Diplomatique writes about the situation on a
regular basis. I've been reading about Israel and Palestine for a
while. I remember when 23-year-old American activist Rachel Corrie was
run over by a bulldozer as she stood barring its way (2003-03-19
Israel). I wore T-shirts sold by The Electronic Initfada. If I know
one thing it's that the situation is very complicated, that human
rights are violated every day, and that the response to the violation
of human rights is not more violations of human rights.

All should go to court.

> The landmark ruling of 19 July 2024 declared that Israel’s
> occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank, including East
> Jerusalem, is unlawful, along with the associated settlement regime,
> annexation and use of natural resources. The Court added that
> Israel's legislation and measures violate the international
> prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. The ICJ mandated
> Israel to end its occupation, dismantle its settlements, provide
> full reparations to Palestinian victims and facilitate the return of
> displaced people. -- Experts hail ICJ declaration on illegality of
> Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as
> “historic” for Palestinians and international law

This is just the first paragraph of the alleged crimes of Benjamin
Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant:

> The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that during the
> relevant time, international humanitarian law related to
> international armed conflict between Israel and Palestine applied.
> This is because they are two High Contracting Parties to the 1949
> Geneva Conventions and because Israel occupies at least parts of
> Palestine. The Chamber also found that the law related to
> non-international armed conflict applied to the fighting between
> Israel and Hamas. The Chamber found that the alleged conduct of Mr
> Netanyahu and Mr Gallant concerned the activities of Israeli
> government bodies and the armed forces against the civilian
> population in Palestine, more specifically civilians in Gaza. It
> therefore concerned the relationship between two parties to an
> international armed conflict, as well as the relationship between an
> occupying power and the population in occupied territory. For these
> reasons, with regards to war crimes, the Chamber found it
> appropriate to issue the arrest warrants pursuant to the law of
> international armed conflict. The Chamber also found that the
> alleged crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and
> systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza. --
> Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects
> the State of Israel’s challenges to jurisdiction and issues warrants
> of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant

Same here, there first paragraph of the alleged crimes of Mohammed
Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri:

> With regard to the crimes, the Chamber found reasonable grounds to
> believe that on 7 October 2023, shortly after a large number of
> rockets triggered the ‘Tzeva Adom’ alarm in several communities in
> Israel around 6:20-6:30 am, armed men entered these communities, as
> well as the site of the Supernova festival, a music event with a few
> thousand participants (‘7 October Operation’). Members of Hamas,
> notably fighters of the al-Qassam Brigades, carried out mass
> killings at and/or around the communities of Kfar Aza, Holit, Nir
> Oz, Be’eri, and Nahal Oz, as well as at the Supernova festival. The
> attackers, for example, fired at people while they were seeking
> shelter and threw grenades at them. Hamas fighters followed similar
> patterns in other locations and killed further persons. These
> killings qualify as the crime against humanity and the war crime of
> murder. -- Situation in the State of Palestine: ICC Pre-Trial
> Chamber I issues warrant of arrest for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim
> Al-Masri (Deif)

Put people on trial, respect human rights, roll back the occupation,
follow the resolutions of the United Nations. How hard can it be?

Very hard.

You know what's easy? Writing petty emails like these:

> It’s amazing you don’t have blog posts with that tag in October
> 2023.
>
> It’s amazing you talk about hostages only in context of d&d.

What an amazing big brain email from a write-only email address. 🙄

Well, at least it made write that one post per month about Israel and
Palestine instead of only posting bookmarks.

#Israel #Palestine