Palestine solidarity protesters on August 2 in New York City (Photo: Wyatt Souers)
The US shows no signs of implementing an arms embargo or even conditioning aid as Palestinian death toll continues to mount
On August 26, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that it had received over 50,000 tons in shipments of arms and military equipment from the US since October 7. Israel has used these shipments in carrying out a war that has been labeled by international bodies and nations as a genocide against the people of Gaza, with over 40,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces thus far. The weapons deliveries are “crucial for sustaining the IDF’s operational capabilities during the ongoing war,” claim Israeli forces.
It appears that the US is no closer to an arms embargo against Israel or even to conditioning aid, despite pressure from within the country itself to do so. Only weeks ago, the Pentagon announced an arms sale of USD 20 billion to Israel.
Last month, shortly before the US Congress gave visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a standing ovation in a special joint session of Congress, seven major labor unions, representing almost half of the combined unionized workforce, penned a letter demanding that the US end US aid to Israel.
This demand was reiterated by “uncommitted” delegates at the Democratic National Convention last week, as well as the thousands of protesters outside of the Convention in Chicago. Vice President Kamala Harris, formally chosen as the Democratic Party nominee in the 2024 presidential election, only firmly doubled down on her Party’s support for Israel in her acceptance speech.
“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival,” Harris stated.
The conditions of genocide are only becoming more dire in Gaza. On August 16, the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that a 10-month-old baby in Gaza had been infected with polio, Gaza’s first case of polio in 25 years. This announcement raised alarms about the effects of war on conditions of disease and starvation, which could lead to upwards of 186,000 deaths, as estimated by a letter published in The Lancet last month. Organizations such as the WHO have emphasized that a humanitarian pause in the war are essential to carrying out an effective polio vaccination campaign.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to reporters on a tarmac in Doha, Qatar on August 20, 2024. (Photo: Kevin Mohatt/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
“You are currently arming, funding, and defending a genocide in Gaza. That is how history will remember you.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was accused of stark hypocrisy on Saturday after he condemned the Myanmar military’s genocide against the Rohingya people while simultaneously aiding Israel’s genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip.
Marking the seventh anniversary of Myanmar’s vicious ethnic cleansing of the stateless Rohingya, Blinken wrote on social media that “the United States continues to honor the victims and stand with the survivors as they seek justice and accountability for these atrocities.”
Blinken also issued a statement highlighting the U.S. State Department’s “extensive documentation of the atrocities and abuses committed against Rohingya and all civilians”—a sharp contrast with the Biden administration’s reluctance to assess Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“You are currently arming, funding, and defending a genocide in Gaza,” Middle East researcher and analyst Assal Rad wrote in response to Blinken’s statement. “That is how history will remember you, not your empty words.”
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) also weighed in, telling Blinken to “just stop trying to act like you care about genocide or human rights.”
Under Blinken’s leadership, the U.S. State Department has approved massive arms transfers to Israel—including a recent $20 billion sale—and provided diplomatic cover for the country’s far-right government on the world stage, dismissing as “meritless” the South Africa-led genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Israel has killed more than 40,400 people in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas-led attack. Most of those killed in Israel’s assault have been women and children—including thousands of infants and toddlers.
“According to documents and sources who spoke with Haaretz,” the Israeli newspaper reported last September, “the government-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and the Israeli arms maker Elbit Systems maintained their trade with Myanmar despite an international arms embargo on the country, and despite a 2017 ruling by Israel’s High Court of Justice and the Israeli government’s own 2018 statement saying it stopped such sales.”
“Israel’s longstanding relations with the different regimes controlling Myanmar have involved arms trade since the mid-20th century,” Haaretz continued. “Even in the years in which the country was openly ruled by its military junta, Israel refused to stop the trade. The trade was maintained through the Rohingya genocide of 2016-17.”
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Zibqin in southern Lebanon on August 25, 2024. (Photo: Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images
“Looks like Israel is now escalating in Lebanon in a major way in the hopes of kicking off a major war in the north that has thus far been kept to more limited exchanges,” warned one analyst.
Israel’s military deployed around 100 fighter jets to launch a massive bombing campaign in southern Lebanon on Sunday, endangering tens of thousands of civilians and heightening the chances of an all-out regional war.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) characterized the wave of airstrikes as an effort to preemptively “remove the threat” posed by a purportedly imminent Hezbollah attack, but observers argued the Israeli bombing marked a serious escalation that could further undermine hopes of a cease-fire deal in Gaza.
“Looks like Israel is now escalating in Lebanon in a major way in the hopes of kicking off a major war in the north that has thus far been kept to more limited exchanges,” wrote political analyst Yousef Munayyer. “Just as negotiations for a cease-fire were reportedly advancing.”
Hezbollah said Sunday that it had fired hundreds of drones and rockets at Israeli military sites in retaliation for the assassination of one of the group’s senior commanders last month. Hezbollah said the “first phase” of its response was complete and rejected the IDF’s claim that it preempted the group’s retaliatory action.
The Associated Press reported that “by mid-morning, it appeared that the exchange had ended, with both sides saying they had only aimed at military targets.”
“At least three people were killed in the strikes on Lebanon,” AP noted, “while there were no reports of casualties in Israel.”
Israel Katz, the Israeli foreign minister, wrote on social media following the attack on Lebanon that he “sent a direct message to dozens of foreign ministers worldwide, urging them to support Israel against the Iranian axis of evil and its proxies, led by Hezbollah.”
Israel's Foreign Minister making it crystal-clear what they're trying to do, if it wasn't clear already: escalate wildly in order to expedite a war, and then beg other Western powers to back them to a hilt when Hezbollah inevitably responds to a huge attack on Lebanese soil. https://t.co/ahfxH44gY1
Sunday’s dangerous back-and-forth, described by one newspaper as the two sides’ biggest exchange of fire since the 2006 war, further intensified concerns that the region is moving toward the precipice of an all-out conflict as Israel’s U.S.-backed assault on the Gaza Strip continues with no end in sight.
A White House spokesperson said Sunday that U.S. President Joe Biden is “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.”
“At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” the spokesperson said. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”
One senior U.S. official said Israel did not give the White House advance notice of the Lebanon attack.
Monica Marks, professor of Middle East politics at New York University Abu Dhabi, wrote that the White House’s claim to be promoting regional stability “lands like a bad joke” given ongoing U.S. support for Israel’s “escalatory acts.”
“Lives on the ground are at stake. So are [Democratic presidential nominee Kamala] Harris‘ chances and Biden’s legacy,” Marks added. “D.C. is playing Middle East roulette.”
Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon came after another horrific day in the Gaza Strip, where the IDF killed dozens of Palestinians in southern Gaza. “Among the dead,” according to the AP, “were 11 members of a family, including two children, after an airstrike hit their home in Khan Younis.”
The atrocities preceded a fresh round of high-level cease-fire talks, negotiations that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly thwarted with hardline demands.
The Washington Post reported Saturday that “Israel and Hamas were sending senior-level delegations to Cairo this weekend as U.S., Qatari, and Egyptian mediators prepared for a high-stakes summit they hope will break the deadlock in negotiations for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.”
“Hamas officials arrived in the Egyptian capital Saturday, while Israeli media reported that a team led by the head of Mossad, David Barnea, would travel there Sunday,” the Post added. “The summit, also on Sunday, will include CIA Director William J. Burns, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) visit the site of a shooting in Hebron, West Bank on August 21, 2023. (Photo: Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“Any unjustified delay in these proceedings detrimentally affects the rights of victims,” the chief prosecutor wrote.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor argued in a Friday filing that pretrial judges have the jurisdiction to rule on the arrest warrants he is seeking for Israeli and Hamas leaders and must “urgently render its decisions.”
The October 7 attack and Israel’s retaliation in the Gaza Strip led the ICC’s Karim Khan to apply for warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as well as three Hamas leaders—Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri (also known Deif), Ismail Haniyeh, and Yahya Sinwar—in May. Since then, Israel has assassinated Haniyeh and also claimed to have killed Deif, which Hamas denies.
The Associated Pressreported that Khan’s new brief “came in response to legal arguments filed by dozens of countries, academics, victims’ groups, and rights groups either rejecting or supporting the court’s power to issue arrest warrants in its investigation into the war in Gaza and the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel.”
The prosecutor wrote that “Israel has occupied Palestine since 1967,” and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled last month that “Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT),” which includes Gaza, “is unlawful.”
“It is settled law that the court has jurisdiction in this situation,” the prosecutor asserted, citing a February 2021 decision. “Any unjustified delay in these proceedings detrimentally affects the rights of victims.”
“The situation in the OPT, including Gaza, is catastrophic, owing in large part to the ongoing criminality described in the applications,” he added. “The issuance of the requested arrest warrants could avert further harm to the victims who remain in Gaza and to those who were forced to leave but continue to suffer physical and mental harm.”
The Hamas-led October attack on Israel killed over 1,100 people and militants took over 240 others hostage, more than 100 of whom remain in Gaza. Since then, the Israel Defense Forces has slaughtered at least 40,265 Palestinians and injured another 93,144, according to local officials, while leveling civilian infrastructure across the coastal enclave.
The AP noted that “Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.”
U.S. political leaders including President Joe Biden have faced criticism for not only giving Israel billions of dollars in weapons to wage war but also condemning the ICC prosecutor’s pursuit of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
In addition to the potential ICC warrants, Israel faces an ongoing South Africa-led genocide case at the ICJ.
Noa Argamani, an Israeli woman who spent 245 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza after being kidnapped last October 7, meets with representatives of Group of Seven nations in Tokyo on August 21, 2024. (Photo: Richard Brooks/AFP via Getty Images)
“I cannot ignore what happened here over the past 24 hours, taking my words out of context,” said Noa Argamani. “As a victim of October 7, I refuse to be victimized once again by the media.”
An Israeli woman kidnapped by Hamas militants on October 7 and held hostage for 245 days before being rescued lashed out on Friday at Israeli media outlets that twisted her words to make it seem as if she was wounded by her captors when in reality she was injured in an attack by the military in which she once served.
Responding to reports in outlets including The Jerusalem Post—which on Thursday ran the headline “Hamas Beat Me All Over”—Noa Argamani said on Instagram that “I can’t ignore what happened in the media in the last 24 hours.”
“Things were taken out of context,” the 26-year-old navy veteran from Be’er Sheva said of her earlier comments to Group of Seven diplomats in Tokyo. “I was not beaten… I was in a building that was bombed by the Air Force.”
“I emphasize that I was not beaten, but injured all over my body by the collapse of a building on me,” Argamani added. “As a victim of October 7, I refuse to be victimized once again by the media.”
Israeli media is scrambling to remove the “Hamas beat me” references 💨 Screenshots and the internet archive are forever 🥲 pic.twitter.com/u0Cx5LKzlK
Argamani was partying with her boyfriend Avinatan Or at the Nova rave near the Gaza border when the festival was attacked by Hamas-led militants in the early morning hours of October 7. In now-famous video footage, she is seen begging, “Don’t kill me!” as her captors whisk her away toward Gaza on a motorcycle. Or was also kidnapped and is believed to still be in Hamas custody.
“Every night, I was falling asleep and thinking, this may be the last night of my life,” Argamani said Thursday of her time in captivity.
Argamani was one of four Hamas captives rescued during a June raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, an operation in which Israeli forces killed at least 236 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Three other Israeli hostages taken from the Nova rave were also rescued in the raid.
“It’s a miracle because I survived October 7, and I survived this bombing, and I also survived the rescue,” Argamani said in Tokyo on Thursday.
Argamani’s rescue fulfilled a dying wish from her mother, who had terminal cancer, to be reunited with her daughter before she passed. Argamani was also freed on the birthday of her father, Yakov Argamani, who, from the start of the hostage ordeal, urged Israeli leaders to eschew revenge after the October 7 attack.
There are believed to be around 109 Israelis and others still held captive by Hamas in Gaza. Argamani implored the government to make freeing them its top priority.
“Avinatan, my boyfriend, is still there, and we need to bring them back before it’s going to be too late,” she said Thursday. “We don’t want to lose more people than we already lost.”
More than 1,100 Israelis and others including Thai farmworkers were killed on October 7, at least some of them in so-called “friendly fire” attacks by Israeli forces. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) employed a protocol known as the “Hannibal Directive” authorizing lethal force against Israeli soldiers in order to prevent them from being taken prisoner by enemy forces. More than 240 Israelis and others were abducted by Hamas and other militants.
Freed hostages have recounted being fired upon by Israeli aircraft as they were being taken by Hamas militants to Gaza. One former captive said in December that “every day in captivity was extremely challenging. We were in tunnels, terrified that it would not be Hamas, but Israel, that would kill us, and then they would say Hamas killed you.”
Numerous Israeli hostages have been killed by their would-be rescuers, including a trio of men who managed to escape from their captors and were waving white flags and shouting for help in Hebrew when they were shot dead by IDF soldiers in Gaza in December, and five Israelis who likely suffocated to death due to a fire sparked by an Israeli assault six months ago on the tunnel where the hostages were being held.
In contrast to former Palestinian prisoners held by Israel—who, along with Israeli whistleblowers, have reported systemic torture, rape, starvation, and even murder committed by their captors—numerous Israelis kidnapped by Hamas have reported being relatively well treated. Other former hostages said they were physically, sexually, and psychologically abused.
Taking civilian hostages is a war crime in itself.
Israel’s 322-day retaliation for October 7 has left at least 144,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing. Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been forcibly displaced by Israel’s bombardment and invasion, which has flattened much of the coastal enclave. A crippling siege has pushed hundreds of thousands of Gazans over the brink of starvation, with at least dozens of children dying of malnutrition, dehydration, and lack of medical care. Preventable diseases including measles, hepatitis, and polio threaten public health not only in Gaza but also in Israel and other neighboring nations.
