Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a forceful defense of Israel’s conduct in Gaza on Monday, drawing parallels between contemporary anti-Israel accusations and the medieval blood libels that preceded centuries of Jewish persecution, while announcing that Israel has authorized airdrops of humanitarian aid to bypass Hamas’s theft of food supplies.
In a video statement delivered in English and posted on social media, Netanyahu directly confronted accusations that Israel is deliberately starving Palestinian children, calling such claims “a bare-faced lie” and placing them in the historical context of antisemitic propaganda that culminated in the Holocaust:
“In the middle ages, all the massacres against Jews were preceded by horrible vilifications,” Netanyahu stated. “The lies that were leveled against the Jews spread around the globe. We were poisoning the wells. We were carriers of disease. We slaughtered Christian children in order to drink their blood, and this spread from country to country and created massacre after massacre culminating in the worst massacre of them all, the Holocaust in which 6 million innocent Jews were led to the slaughter.”
The Israeli leader emphasized that “today, the Jewish state is facing similar vilifications” as international critics accuse Israel of deliberately causing starvation in Gaza. Netanyahu countered these accusations with concrete figures, stating that “since the beginning of the war, we have let in almost 2,000,000 tons of food. Two million tons of food for Palestinian civilians, Palestinian children.”
However, Netanyahu revealed that Hamas has been systematically stealing humanitarian aid intended for Palestinian civilians. “That’s been our policy, but in the last few months, this humanitarian aid has been interdicted by Hamas looting. They steal the food from their own people,” he explained.
To circumvent Hamas’s theft of aid supplies, Netanyahu announced that Israel has implemented new measures. “So we’ve decided to go around. I have authorized the Israeli Air Force to airdrop humanitarian food and medical supplies to Palestinian civilians,” he stated, adding that Israel has “invited other countries to join these airdrops and many have.”
The airdrops began over the weekend, with Israel’s military announcing the operations Saturday night. The IDF reported facilitating what it called the largest airdrop yet of humanitarian aid from six different countries as of August 1st.
Netanyahu also announced the establishment of “safe corridors through which these trucks can travel without being looted by Hamas, or endangered by combat activity,” and indicated that Israel is discussing “further steps to alleviate any possibility of hunger or the appearance of hunger” with American officials.
The prime minister framed Israel’s military campaign as a liberation effort, stating: “We’re committed to doing this, just as we’re committing to free Gaza from the tyranny of these terrorists. Many Gazans come to us and they say: ‘help us be free.’ ‘Help us be free of Hamas.’ ‘Of their terror.’ ‘Of their cruelty.’ ‘Of their tyranny.’ And that’s what we will do.”
Netanyahu’s historical comparison between modern anti-Israel accusations and medieval antisemitic blood libels reflects growing Israeli frustration with what officials see as biased international media coverage. As Breitbart News reported last week, Israel challenged the New York Times to publish photos of emaciated Israeli hostages after major media outlets published images falsely purporting to be of starving Palestinian children that were in reality suffering from other medical conditions, forcing the New York Times to issue a correction to its front-page photo once the truth emerged. The blood libel accusation — that Jews murdered Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals — was a recurring justification for pogroms and persecution throughout European history.
The timing of Netanyahu’s statement comes as Israel faces growing international condemnation over alleged Palestinian starvation in Gaza. Israeli officials have pushed back vehemently on such claims, maintaining that there is no starvation in Gaza and that whatever bottlenecks in food distribution exist are being created by Hamas in its effort to loot humanitarian aid, or by United Nations incompetence. Israeli officials point out that the only people confirmed to be starving in Gaza are the 20 Israeli hostages who are thought to be alive among the 50 who still remain in Hamas captivity.
In addition to authorizing airdrops, Netanyahu announced that Israel has designated safe corridors for aid trucks to travel “without being looted by Hamas, or endangered by combat activity,” and indicated that Israel is discussing with American officials “further steps to alleviate any possibility of hunger or the appearance of hunger.” The prime minister emphasized Israel’s dual commitment: “We’re committed to doing this, just as we’re committing to free Gaza from the tyranny of these terrorists.”
As Breitbart News reported Monday, Netanyahu’s broader strategy may include plans for full re-occupation of the Gaza Strip, reflecting Israel’s determination to permanently eliminate Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure. His latest statement reinforces the Israeli position that Hamas, not Israel, bears responsibility for Palestinian suffering in Gaza.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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