Write a commentIn 1978, Israeli journalist Ze'ev Schiff summarized the statements of IDF Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur after an interview: "The Israeli Army has always struck civilian populations, purposely and consciously."
This was after the 1978 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, which drove out and displaced 250,000 Lebanese/Palestinians.
In the summer of 1982, Israel faced a dilemma. The PLO supported a United Nations resolution on a two-state solution. The Israeli political scientist Avner Yaniv wrote, "Israel had essentially two options: a political move leading to a historical compromise with the PLO, or preemptive military action against it." To avoid what Yaniv called the PLO's "peace offensive," Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. The invasion ended with the Sabra and Shatila massacre. In total, the 1982 U.S.-Israeli invasion of Lebanon killed 20,000 Lebanese/Palestinians and wounded over 30,000.
Reuters reported in December 2024, "Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 4,047 people and wounded 16,638 others since Oct. 7, 2023." Amnesty International wrote, "Israeli troops deliberately left a trail of destruction," and "civilian property was laid to waste on a massive scale." Israel damaged or destroyed 10,803 Lebanese structures. Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire in November 2024.
Last Wednesday, the Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported, "The Israeli military carried out a series of airstrikes in Lebanon... one day after Israeli strikes killed 13 people in a Palestinian refugee camp in the country's south."
United Nations experts warned, "Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to strike Lebanese territory almost daily," and "the Israel Defense Forces have been quoted as confirming over 500 airstrikes [on Lebanon]." Truthout reported, "This totals nearly 10,000 [ceasefire] violations in less than a year of the ceasefire."
Last Wednesday, Haaretz also reported, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, "hit Al-Awda schools in eastern Khan Yunis, with reports of casualties – most of them civilians who sought refuge in converted educational centers."
The United Nations Children's Fund said, in Gaza, "67 children have been killed during the ceasefire." That's two children killed every day. The Wall Street Journal wrote, "The strikes in Gaza have led to a mounting death toll, with about 280 Palestinians killed and hundreds more injured since the cease-fire went into effect."
Save the Children stated that 700,000 "Children in Gaza are sleeping on the bare ground with no shelter, in flimsy shorts and t-shirts that are sodden with sewage water after their tents flooded." Over half a million children in Gaza face starvation. Gaza has the world's largest orphan crisis, and the largest cohort in the world of child amputees. They face a third harsh winter in a row, barefoot, without proper clothes, trapped in flooded tents.
The Wall Street Journal reported, "The Trump administration has greenlighted Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon." Washington approved Israel's 497 violations of the Gaza ceasefire.
On Sunday, Israeli pilots dropped U.S.-manufactured missiles on Gaza and Beirut. U.S. taxpayers fund the pulverization of Lebanon and Gaza. That's where the responsibility lies, with the U.S. government, which provides the endless shipments of bombs.
Kindly,
Anton Porcari
