Watan-The renowned American journalist Chris Hedges commented on the massacres committed by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza during the ongoing war on the territory for the second consecutive month.
Speaking at a seminar organized by the Qatari Center for Journalism titled “The War on Gaza: International Contexts and Media Bias,” Hedges stated, “I am in the Arabic service studio of Al Jazeera, watching the live broadcast from the city of Gaza. Due to the intense Israeli shelling, Wael Al-Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in northern Gaza, was forced to evacuate to southern Gaza. He left his camera behind.
Chris Hedges: I am in the studio of Al Jazeera’s Arabic service watching a live feed from Gaza City. The Al Jazeera reporter in northern Gaza, because of the intense Israeli shelling, was forced to evacuate to southern Gaza. He left his camera behind. He trained it on Al-Shifa… pic.twitter.com/FUQYdxFlia
— 🅰pocalypsis 🅰pocalypseos 🇷🇺 🇨🇳 🅉 (@apocalypseos) November 12, 2023
He added that Israeli tanks fired directly at the Shifa Medical Complex in the midst of a deliberate attack on the hospital, describing the events as a deliberate war crime and massacre against the most vulnerable civilians, including the sick and infants.
Life in Gaza: On Hold
Chris Hedges continued, stating, “We sit in front of screens, we are silent… Do we know what this means? No life, no water, no internet, no medical supplies… Every child in the incubator will die, every kidney dialysis patient will die, everyone in the intensive care unit will die, everyone in need of oxygen will die, everyone in need of emergency surgery will die.”
The American journalist went on to say, “What will happen to the fifty thousand people who were displaced from their homes due to continuous bombing and sought refuge in the hospital? We know the answer to that as well. Many of them will also die.”
Chris Hedges emphasized that there are no words to express what is happening in Gaza during these five weeks of horror, amid the European indifference, stressing that the complicity of the United States is incomprehensible and unjustifiable.
He pointed out that President Joe Biden will be recorded in history as a partner in genocide, stating, “I hope the ghosts of thousands of children he participated in killing haunt him for the rest of his life.”
Chris Hedges affirmed that Israel and the United States are sending a frightening message to the rest of the world, indicating that international and humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention, are meaningless pieces of paper to them.
He noted that what was not implemented in Iraq will not be implemented in Gaza, stating, “Their message is that we will crush your lives and cities with bombs and missiles. We will kill your women, children, elders, and sick unjustly. We will impose a siege to engineer famine and the spread of infectious diseases. And you, the lowest forms on earth, don’t matter. For us, you are insects that must be extinguished. We have everything. If you try to take anything from us, we will kill you. And we will never be held accountable.”
Chris Hedges concluded, saying, “We don’t hate because of our values… We are hated because we have no values… We are hated because rules apply only to others. Not to us. We are hated because we have arrogated to ourselves the right to commit indiscriminate massacres. We are hated because we are heartless and callous. We are hated because we are hypocrites, speaking of protecting civilians, the rule of law, and humanitarian action while killing hundreds of people in Gaza every day, including 160 children.
In the other side, Israel responded with indignation and moral outrage when accused of bombing the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital Al-Muadami in Gaza, which resulted in hundreds of casualties. Israel claimed that the bombing was the result of a stray missile launched by the Islamic Jihad movement.
Bombing of Al-Muhaddithin Hospital
In response, Chris Hedges remarked, ‘There is nothing in the arsenal of Hamas or the Islamic Jihad that could generate the massive explosive force of the missile that hit the hospital. Those of us who covered Gaza have heard this Israeli metaphor so many times that it has become laughable. They always blame Hamas and the Palestinians for the war crimes they commit, and now they are trying to say that hospitals are command centers for Hamas, and therefore, they are legitimate targets… They never provide evidence. The Israeli army and government lie as naturally as they breathe.
Besieging Shifa Hospital
He cited a statement from Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), whose staff work in Shifa Hospital, stating that patients, doctors, and nurses are trapped in hospitals under fire.
The American journalist said, “Over the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza have been under constant bombardment. Shifa Hospital complex, the largest healthcare facility where Médecins Sans Frontières staff still operate, has been targeted multiple times, including the maternity ward and outpatient clinics, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.
He added, “Hostilities around the hospital have not ceased. Médecins Sans Frontières teams and hundreds of patients remain inside Shifa Hospital. The organization urgently reiterates its calls for a halt to attacks on hospitals, an immediate cessation of hostilities, and the protection of medical facilities, medical staff, and patients.”
Chris Hedges pointed out that the mockery expressed by Israel and the United States is astonishing, saying, “There is no difference in intention. Washington just wants it done quickly. Humanitarian corridors? Stop the bombing? These are vehicles to facilitate the complete evacuation of residents in northern Gaza. What is the allowed group of aid trucks to cross the border at Rafah with Egypt? A PR stunt. There is only one goal – killing, killing, killing… The faster, the better.”
He added, “Everything Biden officials talk about is what will happen after Israel finishes destroying Gaza. They know that the Israeli massacre will not end until the people of Gaza are left homeless in the southern part of the Strip, dying from lack of food, water, and medical care.”
Gaza was one of the most densely populated areas on this planet before the Israeli ground invasion,” said the writer. “Imagine what will happen with 1.1 million residents of Gaza from the north joining over a million residents from the south. Imagine what will happen when infectious diseases like cholera become an epidemic. Imagine the horrors of famine. The pressure to do something will increase.”
Israel hopes that this will push the Palestinians across the borders into Sinai in Egypt. Once there, they will never return. He said that Israel’s ethnic cleansing in Gaza will be complete, and ethnic cleansing of the West Bank will begin.
Chris Hedges added, “This is Israel’s twisted dream. To achieve it, they will make Gaza uninhabitable.”
He continued, “Ask yourself, if you were a Palestinian in Gaza and had a weapon, what would you do? If Israel killed your family, what would your reaction be? Why care about international or humanitarian law when you know it applies only to the oppressed, not the oppressors? If terrorism is the only language Israel uses to communicate, and the only language it seemingly understands, wouldn’t you respond with terrorism?”
Chris Hedges concluded, saying, “Israel’s death cult will not crush Hamas. Hamas is an idea. This idea is nourished with the rise of martyrs. Israel provides ample supplies to Hamas.