Extrapolating conservatively from the 186,000 estimate months ago by The Lancet, one of the world’s most highly regarded medical journals, 200,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s response to October 7, 2023.
Bombed and machine gunned.
Struck by rocket and crushed by tank.
Buried alive in the rubble of homes, schools and hospitals.
Denied food.
Denied water and electricity.
Denied life-saving medicines.
“Ah”, say the genocide apologists. “But you’re conveniently forgetting that Hamas can stop all this today. All they have to do is release the October 7 hostages.”
Really? You think that’s what this is all about? Here’s Caitlin Johnstone, today.
What Israel Supporters Really Mean When They Say “Release The Hostages”
What they are saying is that they believe Israel should murder children, decapitate them, rip their guts out, dismember them, mutilate them, burn them alive, every single day, until its military demands are submitted to.
If you’re not on social media, you’ve likely spent ten and a half months blissfully unaware of an extremely freakish but very common phenomenon in which Israel’s supporters respond to images and videos of dead and mutilated children in Gaza by babbling about the Israeli hostages being held there by Hamas.
Whenever you see someone sharing raw footage of the most horrific thing imaginable being inflicted upon someone who couldn’t possibly have done anything to deserve it, and someone in the replies yelling “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!”, it’s important to be clear what they’re saying.
What they are saying is that they believe Israel should murder children, decapitate them, rip their guts out, dismember them, mutilate them, burn them alive, every single day, until its military demands are submitted to. They are also probably saying that they personally would help Israel do these things to children if circumstances permitted.
They are saying they are fully on board with killing, decapitating, eviscerating, dismembering, mutilating and incinerating small children every day until the hostages are released.
They are saying this despite the mountains upon mountains of evidence that what’s being done in Gaza has nothing whatsoever to do with releasing the hostages.
They are saying this despite the mountains upon mountains of evidence that the IDF has been killing and injuring Israeli hostages with its attacks on Gaza.
They are saying this despite the mountains upon mountains of evidence that Netanyahu is doing everything he can to sabotage a hostage deal while the genocide in Gaza continues.
They are saying this despite the fact that Israel holds thousands of Palestinians hostage under “administrative detention” without due process, and while Israel holds millions of Palestinians hostage in the giant extermination camp known as Gaza.
And they are saying this despite the mountains upon mountains of evidence that Israeli forces are raping, mutilating and torturing Palestinian hostages in torture dungeons as a matter of policy.
It’s important to be aware that this is what they are saying because it’s important to be aware of who Israel’s defenders and supporters really are. These are not normal people. These are not people with healthy minds, with functioning empathy centers in their brains. There is something deeply, profoundly wrong with who they are and how they are.
It’s important to be aware of this because otherwise you might fall into the trap of thinking this issue must be more complicated than it looks, and the interpretation of what we are seeing in Gaza must be a matter of subjective opinion. No, that’s not true at all. What’s happening in Gaza is very simple and straightforward, and is exactly what it immediately and obviously looks like to anyone who beholds it through the lens of conscience and basic human empathy.
The reason for all the debate and disagreement you are seeing about Gaza has nothing to do with complexity or nuance, and everything to do with some very warped and damaged minds lacking the fundamental faculties that cause normal people to care about other human beings.
See also yesterday’s post, Joe Sacco on compassionate genocide
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