| On March 23, 2025, Israel committed yet another massacre that seemed to mark a new low in its assault on Gaza. 15 paramedics and first responders, in clearly marked vehicles, were going about their business trying to rescue and save the wounded when they disappeared. Those who attempted to locate them were also fired upon. Eventually, their ambulances were found crushed, together with their bodies, piled and buried in a sandy pit made and covered by Israeli bulldozers. Their mangled bodies showed indications, according to forensic experts, that they had been captured and then killed execution style, one by one. Some were found shackled and tied down, one was beheaded, another was stripped of his upper clothes. The Red Cross and the United Nations concluded that they had been knowingly killed while carrying out their humanitarian duties, precisely because of their work. Yet in many ways this grizzly event only illustrates a number of features that are now familiar, which seem to distinguish and mark Israeli actions in Gaza: First is the sense of utter impunity. Israelis and the Israeli army are responsible for their actions. Yet, there is a clear feeling of impunity, the responsibility of which falls on the entire world community, particularly the United States but also Europe, whose actions and inactions implicate them in these atrocities as well. The feeling of impunity is palpable in Israel and is touted by its more aggressive right-wing psychopaths. Ben Gvir, Smotrich and Israeli TV and radio commentators openly declare that this is their moment in history and that President Trump supports and has given them a green light for them to do whatever they want. Crazy fantasies, such as “voluntary deportations,” which Israelis did not dare to openly articulate in the past are now being actively pursued, with American approval and support. International law and world opinion is openly flaunted, and those who even attempt to bring sanctions or censure are themselves targeted and punished. Second, and closely related, is the absence of any rules, laws, or restraints. In the past, Israel expended great energy and ingenuity in justifying its conduct and circumventing restrictions in International Humanitarian Law. It argued that it was following the “humanitarian” but not the “political” provisions of the Geneva Convention and that it prohibited and actively prosecuted any of its soldiers who violated international humanitarian law or committed gross violations. It represented itself as a democratic nation and boasted that it was “the most moral army” in the world. It claimed it only targeted terrorists and that civilian casualties were unfortunate collateral damage, caused by Hamas’ embedding itself among civilians and using them as human shields. It claimed it only attacked hospitals, churches and mosques, and educational institutions, when they served as command centers for terrorists and that it only restricted food and other supplies when they were being diverted to serve Hamas purposes. Such pretense is now largely abandoned. While some lip service is paid to them occasionally, Israelis now openly talk of cutting off water, food, medicine and fuel in order to pressure their enemies and convince them to “voluntarily leave” the Gaza strip. Upon renewing the bombardment in March, they openly announced that they were cutting off all food, water, fuel, medicine and other supplies. No longer were they arguing about how many trucks they were allowing in, or whether there was sufficient food. They destroyed hospitals, after they had been fully evacuated and occupied for months. They bombed one hospital openly claiming that they were after a wounded Hamas operative (the head of civilian operations in Hamas, according to them) who was being treated for his wounds at the hospital. The International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice are not only ignored and brazenly defied, but sanctions are threatened against these courts, their judges and prosecutors, and anyone supplying them with information about Israel’s crimes. Third, by prohibiting international journalists, Israel makes it difficult to verify facts or investigate their claims. International journalists must report from Jerusalem and run their reports through Israeli censors. So, Israel always constructs its own unverifiable narrative of events (as in the case of the paramedics, where it claimed their vehicles had “acted in a suspicious manner in approaching their soldiers”). Local Palestinian journalists, who risk their lives to still send out horrifying video evidence, are hunted down and assassinated, sometimes with their families as well. Over 200 journalists have been killed, more than those killed in both World Wars, the Civil War, the Vietnam War, Afghanistan and Iraq wars combined. Yet, Israel insists that their version of events be taken at face value, and international media often complies. Meanwhile, reports by Palestinian journalists are quoted critically, if at all, as “allegations” and “claims.” Palestinian casualty numbers, for example, are always questioned as being sourced by the “Hamas-run Health Ministry,” even when the figures are painstakingly detailed with names, ages, and ID numbers of the casualties. Until we address Israeli impunity, the inability and unwillingness to enforce rules and laws, and lack of access and coverage by international journalists, I fear we will see yet even more outrages in the very near future. |
South Africa seeks justice for Gaza
I’m republishing this post from my friend, Dr Chandra Muzaffar – president of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST). Chandra has been a long-term advocate for Palestine and is one of the best-informed people on the subject that I have ever met. Father Dave
