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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement during the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax in Jerusalem on August 13, 2025. [Photo by RONEN ZVULUN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel can bomb Gaza like the Allies bombed Dresden during World War II.
His remarks were made during an interview with right-wing US network Newsmax on Wednesday.
When asked why the Israeli military does not “wipe Hamas and the Gaza Strip” off the map, he replied, “We can bomb them like the Allies [in World War II] bombed Dresden, we could starve them if we followed the vilifications, these false lies that are delivered against Israel, and nobody would be alive already.
He added that the events of 7 October had involved clear failures and intelligence mistakes.
At the beginning of his remarks, Netanyahu said that Israel was engaged in a war on eight fronts, explaining that seven of them were against Iran and its proxies, while the eighth was what he called a “battle for truth.”
He stressed that, in his view, the only way to overcome lies was through truth.
Turning to the war in Gaza, he claimed that the only deliberate starvation taking place there was that of the Israeli hostages.
He argued that this was evident when comparing the frail and tortured condition of the hostages with the well-fed state of their captors.
Netanyahu said the contrast was intended to expose lies and was linked to the “eighth front,” which he described as the fight for truth.
He also stated that Tel Aviv did not pursue a policy of starvation, and that it had adopted — and continued to follow — a policy aimed at separating civilians from fighters on two fronts.
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Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
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Luis Moreno-Ocampo, former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court [Ralph Alswang/FlickR]
Former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Luis Moreno Ocampo has rejected the “terror” accusations levelled by Israel against Al- Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif and his team as pretext to assassinate them in a targeted airstrike on their tent in northern Gaza Strip, stressing that had it not been for them, the world would not have known what was happening in the Gaza Strip.
Late on Sunday, an Israeli drone targeted the journalists tent outside al- Shifaa hospital in northern Gaza killing al- Sharif and fellow reporter Mohammed Qraiqeh, cameramen Ibrahim Daher and Mohammed Nofal, as well as independent journalists Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Al-Khalidi.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ocampo said “killing journalists is like depriving the world of the gift of sight,” calling on journalists worldwide to embrace the cause of Gaza’s journalists and make it their own.
“Israel, supported by the United States and Germany, is bombing people in Gaza. This is a major dilemma, because the United States promised to be the guardian of the global order and pledged to protect those who deserve protection. However, it opposed the establishment of the International Criminal Court, while my country, Argentina, supported this misguided policy” judge Ocampo said, and emphasised the need to “restore order to the world, otherwise the fighting will herald the end of humanity”.
On Tuesday, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against six Israeli army commanders over their role in the coordinated assassination al-Sharif and his colleagues in Gaza.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
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Journalists gather to stage a protest in Ramallah, the West Bank, on August 11, 2025, against the Israeli army’s air strike on a tent reserved for journalists at the entrance to Shifa Hospital in the center of Gaza City, which killed Al Jazeera reporters. The protesters carried photos of their slain colleagues. [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]
Even in major democracies, of which Israel considers itself one, governments committing crimes typically try to conceal them from the public eye. They do so out of fear of the backlash, embarrassment, and—above all—accountability. Not so in Israel. In its ongoing war in Gaza, Israel is doing the exact opposite. It is openly defying international law and norms, broadcasting its actions with a public bravado that borders on celebration, even as it commits what many, including some of its allies and international organisations, classify as war crimes and a crimes against humanity. This is not a matter of a few rogue actors; it is a display of institutional and societal pride in a campaign of devastation.
Early in the war, then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant set the tone with a statement that shocked the world’s capitals from Washington to Beijing. Announcing a “complete siege on Gaza,” he stated, “We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly.” This dehumanising language provided a chilling moral license for a campaign of collective punishment, cutting off electricity, food, water, and fuel to over two million people. The sentiment has since been amplified on social media, where Israeli soldiers and citizens have uploaded a steady stream of videos mocking Palestinians, celebrating destruction, and flaunting their disregard for civilian life. These posts—often set to cheerful music—show soldiers gleefully detonating homes, rifling through personal belongings, and dedicating explosions to fallen comrades. The digital footprint of these actions creates a damning dossier of potential crimes, proudly broadcast for all to see.
This perverse sense of entertainment has even bled into the civilian sphere, creating a macabre form of “war tourism.” In towns bordering Gaza, like Sderot, “resilience tours” have emerged, where locals and visitors are given guided tours of communities targeted on 7 October. More disturbingly, viewing platforms have been set up with telescopes, offering a unique and ghoulish experience for a small fee: a chance to watch the destruction unfold in real time on the ground just a few kilometres away. This commodification of suffering is a stark testament to a societal shift, where the violence of war is not a tragedy to be mourned but a spectacle to be consumed.
A fundamental factor enabling this open celebration of violence is the public sentiment in Israel itself. Polls consistently show a nationalistic fervour and widespread support for the war’s military objectives, even at the cost of tens of thousands of Palestinian lives. The primary concern of the Israeli public, as articulated by commentators and political figures, is not a humanitarian crisis in Gaza but the fate of the hostages. According to a July 2025 survey by Israel’s Channel 12, a clear majority of Israelis—74 per cent, including 60 per cent of voters for the governing coalition—are willing to end the war in exchange for the release of all hostages. This desire to bring the captives home has become the most urgent national priority, overshadowing the government’s stated goal of eliminating Hamas. This is not to say that the public is ignorant of the suffering; rather, a majority of Jewish Israelis believe the IDF’s reporting on casualties and think Israel is making substantial efforts to avoid harming Palestinian civilians.
The widely held belief that Israel is a victim fighting for survival allows for a collective moral blindness to the devastation. As prominent Israeli journalist Gideon Levy has repeatedly argued, this war has been marked by a “moral blindness” on the part of the Israeli public. In his view, “a sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby.” Levy’s columns and interviews often describe a society that has become numb to Palestinian suffering, prioritising its own narrative of victimhood and security above all else. This selective empathy, where the pain of Israeli families is paramount and the suffering of Gazan children is an unfortunate and often justified casualty, is a key pillar of the institutional pride that allows these crimes to be so openly broadcast.
The selective empathy of Israeli society is further illuminated by its reaction to the threat of international accountability. When the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes, the response from much of the Israeli public and political establishment was not one of introspection, but of outrage and defiance. Polls from late 2024 showed that the majority of Israelis viewed the ICC’s as a political body not a legal one and its warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, are baseless and an anti-Semitic attack on their country’s right to self-defence, not as a legitimate legal challenge to their leaders’ conduct. A significant portion of the public, which consistently supports the war effort, has been unwilling to accept that the actions of their government or military could be criminal, despite the mounting evidence. This moral blind spot is particularly striking when juxtaposed with the country’s fixation on domestic political scandals.
The domestic and ideological factors enabling Israel’s proud defiance of international law are ultimately underpinned by a fundamental belief: that its actions will never result in meaningful international accountability. This conviction stems from the unwavering political and military protection afforded by major powers, particularly the United States. This protection insulates Israeli leaders from the very real consequences their actions would trigger for other nations. While the United States has vehemently rejected the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, describing them as “outrageous,” a critical shift has occurred among some of Israel’s allies.
Unlike the US which rejects the ICC jurisdiction despite its legal efficacy, many other member states have indicated they would execute the warrants if the Israeli officials enter their territory. This has created a growing chasm in the Western world’s response. Countries such as France and the United Kingdom have stated they will respect the court’s independence and would be compelled to enforce the warrants, as have Belgium and other EU nations. This dynamic places Israel’s leaders in a precarious position, no longer able to travel freely to every allied capital without risk. This reality is a testament to the dangerous turning point in global politics that is now playing out—a state openly defying international law, betting that Western protection will shield it from consequences, even as the global consensus on its actions begins to crack.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
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Palestinians struggling with hunger flock to an aid distribution point near the Zikim Crossing in northwestern Gaza to access limited aid supplies amid Israeli attacks in Gaza Strip on August 8, 2025. [Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency]
A major Christian charity is among ten international NGOs whose permits to deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza have been revoked by Israel, as human rights organisations accuse the occupation state of ‘weaponising’ access to food and medicine during what experts say is a genocidal assault on the besieged enclave.
Catholic Relief Services, a US-based Christian aid agency with decades of experience operating in conflict zones, was stripped of its authorisation under new Israeli regulations targeting international NGOs that support Palestinians. The announcement, issued by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, follows the introduction of sweeping laws in March that enable the government to revoke the permits of groups accused—often without evidence—of “delegitimising” Israel or associating with banned organisations.
Two other groups named were Rahma Worldwide, also US-based, and Gaza Direct Aid, described by the ministry as a one-person operation run by a Palestinian activist. Israeli officials claimed Rahma has ties to the Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage—an allegation Rahma has not been formally confronted with—while Gaza Direct Aid was targeted for allegedly using “inflammatory” social media language that denied Israel’s right to exist.
Several aid officials, speaking anonymously to Haaretz, expressed disbelief at the news, saying they had not been informed of the revocation of their permit and dismissed the ministry’s claims as unsubstantiated. “Rahma is one of the few organisations still able to bring in goods since the March siege,” said one official, who added that the group maintained a positive working relationship with the Israeli military body overseeing aid to Gaza.
Another international NGO official said they were highly sceptical of the move, noting that none of their colleagues had mentioned such delistings. “It feels more like a political message than an operational reality,” they said.
Under the regulations introduced in December, international NGOs must submit detailed documentation, including sensitive donor information and personal data about Palestinian staff. Groups that fail to comply risk having their permits denied or revoked. Several organisations have refused to share such information, citing legal restrictions in their home countries and ethical concerns over allowing one party to the conflict to vet their personnel.
Rights groups warned that these measures are part of a broader strategy by the Israeli government to obstruct independent humanitarian operations in Gaza and control the flow of aid as part of its ethnic cleansing strategy.
That concern was echoed today in a joint statement from more than 100 international NGOs, including, CARE, Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, accusing Israel of “weaponising” humanitarian aid and deliberately blocking relief operations to inflict collective punishment on the civilian population.
“Since the full siege was imposed on 2 March, CARE has not been able to deliver any of our $1.5 million worth of pre-positioned supplies into Gaza,” said CARE’s country director Jolien Veldwijk. Oxfam stated it has $2.5 million in blocked aid stuck in warehouses, with dozens of delivery requests rejected by Israeli authorities on the grounds that the organisations were “not authorised.”
The statement revealed that in July alone, over 60 requests to deliver aid were denied, despite Israeli claims that there are no restrictions. Millions of dollars’ worth of essential supplies remain stranded in Jordan and Egypt as Gaza hospitals run out of medicine and children die from starvation.
Aid agencies say the revocations stem from vague and politically motivated criteria introduced in March, which allow Israel to reject applications based on perceived criticism or supposed links to banned entities. Officials say the process is being used to suppress independent reporting and silence groups critical of Israeli conduct.
As of this month, most of the 100 international NGOs that applied for registration were still awaiting final decisions, with delistings expected to rise. Some groups opted not to apply at all, fearing rejection or refusing to participate in what they described as an illegitimate vetting process.
Humanitarian organisations have warned that these measures are part of a broader strategy by the Israeli government to obstruct independent aid distribution in Gaza and control the flow of aid as part of its war effort.
Israel has also come under fire for militarising aid distribution by dismantling the UN-led humanitarian delivery network and replacing it with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a system run jointly with US and Israeli military officials. Human rights groups and UN agencies have condemned the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as an instrument of Israeli military control, accusing it of turning aid distribution sites into death traps.
Dozens of starving Palestinians have been killed by Israeli snipers while attempting to reach GHF distribution centres, where aid is now limited to a handful of heavily militarised locations. Observers warn that this model treats aid as a tool of control rather than relief.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Smoke rises and Palestinians flee the site after Israeli army conduct attacks over al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on August 06, 2025. [Khames Alrefi – Anadolu Agency]
The Israeli military has demolished more than 300 homes over the past three days in the Zeitoun neighborhood in the central Gaza Strip as part of its ongoing occupation plan, Anadolu reports.
Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, said Wednesday that the Israeli army has conducted heavy assaults in Zeitoun, deliberately targeting civilian residential areas.
He noted that the Israeli forces particularly targeted buildings with five floors or more, and due to the explosives used, surrounding structures have also been destroyed.
Some homes were destroyed while residents were still inside, causing casualties, with demolitions carried out without prior warning and intense bombardment preventing civil defense teams from reaching the wounded.
Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed more than 61,700 people since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
