#IsraelHamasWar / The number of fatalities in Gaza is likely three times higher than the official figure (Dr. Martin Wein)
Based on global models, a reasonable estimate is that the true death toll in #Gaza already exceeds the official figure by at least 3 times, so likely over 90,000. The long-term effects of malnutrition, disease, trauma and devastation will drive the excess mortality much higher in the coming months.
Dr. Wein is suggesting that the official tally only counts those directly killed in the attacks, not the much larger excess mortality from secondary causes related to the disaster. This underestimate serves Israeli and Western interests by making the humanitarian catastrophe and crimes committed in Gaza appear smaller.
#Hamas has an interest in keeping official casualty figures in Gaza relatively low for political reasons, and has undercounted victims since the start of the war.
According to Dr. Wein, Hamas is manipulating the death toll numbers in three key ways:
Not counting Gazans killed or captured inside Israel during the October 7 attack
Categorizing many dead buried in rubble as "missing" rather than deceased
Undercounting wounded who died of infections, as well as starvation deaths
Dr. Martin “Moussa” Wein has taught history at Tel Aviv University and New York University. He specializes in Jaffa’s history, Czech-Israeli relations and inter-religious studies.
#Analysis / Generation Z around the world sees what is hidden from young people in Israel [Or-el Tamari]
[...] The accusations that young people around the world are ignorant, and that their support for Palestinians is just a "trend" that confirms their progressiveness, are an attempt to reinforce the supposed superiority of Israeli youths, who allegedly know the Palestinian arena much better than their global peers.
[...] But before we criticize what is happening in the world, we should look at ourselves, Israelis, and see our role in Israel being portrayed globally, long before the current war, as a criminal and occupying state. We turned a blind eye, ignored Jewish-white supremacy, and did not make the connection to the regime change. We gave the green light to the ongoing occupation and dehumanization of Palestinians, which has reached disturbing dimensions in recent months.
[...] While in Israel the media largely ignores what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza, globally, and especially among youth, people see the occupation daily. On social media they are exposed to the reality of Palestinian life under settler violence, see pictures from refugee camps in Gaza, read about the humanitarian catastrophe.
[...] Often when I spoke to peers abroad they confronted me with videos of arrests and shootings of minors, soldiers calling to expel Gaza residents, a soldier saying the "new Jew looks the enemy in the eye and then cuts off his head".
[...] Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, Israeli youth are exposed to nationalist influencers brought to Gaza by the IDF, presenting a destroyed kitchen as an "Arab-Nazi kitchen with an oven for burning people". They see singers chanting to bomb Gaza, saying it is a "whore" and "garbage". https://kolektiva.social/@oatmeal/111971880313732554
#Analysis / Generation Z around the world sees what is hidden from young people in Israel [Or-el Tamari]
Or-el Tamari is a 20 y/o freelance journalist
[...] The accusations that young people around the world are ignorant, and that their support for Palestinians is just a "trend" that confirms their progressiveness, are an attempt to reinforce the supposed superiority of Israeli youths, who allegedly know the Palestinian arena much better than their global peers.
[...] But before we criticize what is happening in the world, we should look at ourselves, Israelis, and see our role in Israel being portrayed globally, long before the current war, as a criminal and occupying state. We turned a blind eye, ignored Jewish-white supremacy, and did not make the connection to the regime change. We gave the green light to the ongoing occupation and dehumanization of Palestinians, which has reached disturbing dimensions in recent months.
[...] While in Israel the media largely ignores what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza, globally, and especially among youth, people see the occupation daily. On social media they are exposed to the reality of Palestinian life under settler violence, see pictures from refugee camps in Gaza, read about the humanitarian catastrophe.
[...] Often when I spoke to peers abroad they confronted me with videos of arrests and shootings of minors, soldiers calling to expel Gaza residents, a soldier saying the "new Jew looks the enemy in the eye and then cuts off his head".
[...] Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, Israeli youth are exposed to nationalist influencers brought to Gaza by the IDF, presenting a destroyed kitchen as an "Arab-Nazi kitchen with an oven for burning people". They see singers chanting to bomb Gaza, saying it is a "whore" and "garbage". https://kolektiva.social/@oatmeal/111971880313732554
#WestBank / Report: how IDF and the settlers blocking entrance to Palestinian towns in the West Bank (Yuval Avraham)
According to #IDF protocols, closures and movement restrictions can only be imposed when there is a concrete security need, not as punitive or deterrent measures. Closures are supposed to be time-limited with orders, and sweeping restrictions avoided, allowing exceptions for urgent humanitarian needs.
This is a long, detailed and well documented report of daily abuse of Palestinian residents in the West Bank by settlers.
Some of the events reported:
In the village of Khirbet Sarra, residents must call the nearby settlement to get permission every time they want to leave on foot, as the village entrance has been blocked by a stone barricade.
In Beit Jala, a young man was shot dead by soldiers when he tried to open a gate to help an elderly woman exit in her car.
Ambulance drivers reported being prevented from using main roads to reach cities like Nablus and Hebron quickly, forcing them to take long detours on poor roads while patients suffer.
In multiple cases, roads were closed by settlers putting up barricades, with the army later adopting the closures rather than removing them. The settlements of Ma'ale Amos and Avni Hefetz blocked the main road to Palestinians for a month before the army intervened.
Entire villages like Susya and Sa'ir have had all roads leading in and out blocked by a combination of army and settler actions, leaving them isolated.
Refugee camps like Al-Fawwar have had main entrances blocked, with residents reporting they will be shot if they try to leave at night.
Roads have been closed as "punishment" after stone throwing incidents, with the army acknowledging this despite it being against protocol.
IDF spokesperson response:
The IDF spokesperson said roadblocks and traffic monitoring are being used in the West Bank according to security assessments to protect all residents in the area. Some road closures and traffic checks are therefore in place in various locations.
The IDF acknowledged forces exceeded their approved mission by blocking roads in the village of Susya without coordination. That blockade has since been removed. The closure in Khirbet Sarra is under review by security forces.
Overall, the IDF states it is acting based on security assessments to provide safety, and claims blockades and traffic monitoring serve this purpose even though humanitarian concerns and protocol violations have been raised.
#PressFreedom / Why did IDF assassinate journalists Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya? 3 different versions within 4 days tried to hide the obvious truth
#IDF doesn't know who they're targeting. They kill and then make up a story about "terrorists". But targeting journalists, clearly marked as such, seem to be a priority. #Israel is also among the top jailers of journalists worldwide, as acknowledged by CPJ recently. https://kolektiva.social/@oatmeal/111806150045046433
Israel gave several shifting explanations for the killing al-Dahdouh and Turiya:
Initial IDF statement was that they were killed while accompanying a "terrorist" who was operating a drone that threatened Israeli forces.
Later, an IDF spokesperson statement was that they were using a drone in a war zone which is problematic, but it is unfortunate they were killed.
Even later, the IDF statement changed again, this time claiming that "intelligence" shows the two were active members of #Hamas and Palestinian #IslamicJihad, who had just operated drones threatening Israeli forces before being targeted.
This tortured interview with #Hasbara operative Eylon Levy leaves no room for doubt. Israel is lying and has been lying to international media about almost everything they agree to comment on in respect to the arbitrary killing of Gazans.
#PressFreedom / Why did IDF assassinate Journalists Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya? 3 different versions within 4 days tried to hide the obvious truth
IDF doesn't know who they're targeting. They kill and then make up a story about "terrorists". But targeting journalists, clearly marked as such, seem to be a priority. Israel is also among the top jailers of journalists worldwide, as acknowledged by CPJ recently. https://kolektiva.social/@oatmeal/111806150045046433
Israel gave several shifting explanations for the killing al-Dahdouh and Turiya:
Initial IDF statement was that they were killed while accompanying a "terrorist" who was operating a drone that threatened Israeli forces.
Later, an IDF spokesperson statement was that they were using a drone in a war zone which is problematic, but it is unfortunate they were killed.
Even later, the IDF statement changed again, this time claiming that "intelligence" shows the two were active members of #Hamas and Palestinian #IslamicJihad, who had just operated drones threatening Israeli forces before being targeted.
This tortured interview with #Hasbara operative Eylon Levy leaves no room for doubt. Israel is lying and has been lying to international media about almost everything they agree to comment on in respect to the arbitrary killing of Gazans.
#opinion [Amal Oraby (أمل عرابي)] / 3 Reasons to be Optimistic About the #ICJ preliminary Ruling
1 / by accepting the case and hearing South Africa's arguments that Israel is violating international law, the Court shattered #Netanyahu's project to deny Palestinian nationhood. The Court affirmed there is a Palestinian people with equal rights.
2 / the Court's decision provides legal ammunition for demanding a #ceasefire. This is now not just an unrealistic moral demand but follows international legal norms to minimize suffering.
3 / #Israel is now under increased global scrutiny that exposes the less flattering realities of decades of #occupation and siege policies. Israel will have to reckon with the past, present and future consequences of its actions.
This shifts the calculus for other post-colonial peoples to demand justice for Palestinians as connected to their own struggles. A new political project is needed in Israel to change realities rather than deny them.
#IDF / Tuning out a #genocide to practice some #yoga in Beit Hanoun (بيت حانون)
Ynet host asking [not sarcastically, as far as I can tell]: How does this moment of quiet feel, with the cannons rumbling around?
[…] Surrealistic completely. It's to sit inside a house in #Gaza, explosions around, noise and chaos and the radio in the background. But precisely inside this, the consciousness knows this is what it needs now and it tunes in, and this is the ability to practice yoga and meditation. It doesn't matter where you are, it's being attentive to yourself."
[…] I also come from the worlds of #Judaism and #yoga, and it is told about King David that he had exactly these two poles, that he knew both when to be in war and be a fighter and do what's needed in war as well as to be very, very gentle and sensitive and write Psalms and write poetry.
[…] I draw from this connection and from his character, within the context we are in, and also when I'll need to return to war, with God's help I will also do so.
Sikha Mekomit presents extensive evidence that looting of Palestinian property by Israeli soldiers was widespread and tolerated by commanders during recent #Gaza operations. in addition to individual soldiers looting, the military's "spoils of war" unit officially confiscates cash and other assets.