WaPo spouts more Palestinian propaganda
In an otherwise excellent article, “Israel’s SNL’ entertains a traumatized nation” (1/20/24), The Washington Post can’t help but spoil the news with Palestinian propaganda. The article states that “Israel’s war [in Gaza] has killed more than 24,400 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.” First of all, the Post should just say ‘according to Hamas’ – not the Gaza Health Ministry – as Hamas dictates everything emanating from Gaza. Calling them the “Gaza Health Ministry” obfuscates the true source. Washington Post, please correct.
Secondly, this is not “Israel’s war.” It is a war that Israel didn’t want and didn’t start. It is Hamas’ war on Israel and Hamas hasn’t stopped firing rockets at Israel to this very day. Israel is responding in an effort to defeat their attackers, who deliberately slaughtered 1200 Israeli men, women, children, and even babies, and took 240 hostages, also including babies among them. Israel’s goal is to defeat Hamas so that atrocity never happens again. Who can begrudge Israel for that? Call it as it is – it’s Hamas’ war on Israel! Washington Post, please correct.
Lastly, and most significantly, the casualty figure fails to identify Hamas combatants. It is presented as if the total casualty count is civilian. In other words, the Gaza Health ministry designates ZERO combatants among their figure – proof that the numbers are suspect. Further, it neglects Palestinians killed by Hamas since up to a fourth of all Hamas’ thousands of rockets fired at Israeli population centers land within Gaza. Israel estimates that almost half of the so-called health ministry casualty count were Hamas combatants. Israel is conducting the most careful and humane military campaign in history, with a record of about 1.5-to-1 ratio of civilian casualties to combatants. This ratio is especially commendable since Hamas fires from behind and underneath their civilians, using them as human shields. For comparisons sake, the UN says the average ratio of civilians to combatant casualties in war is nine-to-one. Israel is eons better than that! So enough with articles implying Israel is using “indiscriminate” force – that is wildly unfounded.
All civilian deaths are tragic. And they are all the fault of Hamas. Let’s not forget that and let’s report it that way.