Source: Common Dreams
by Brian Tierney
“For the past year, the world has watched in horror as Israel waged one of the most brutal and murderous military campaigns against a civilian population in the 21st Century. What began as a war of collective punishment following October 7, 2023 quickly exploded into a full-scale genocide against the people of Gaza. Israel deployed the familiar trope about Hamas using civilians as “human shields” to justify the merciless targeting of population centers, dropping U.S. bombs on homes, hospitals, schools, and overcrowded refugee camps across the narrow strip of land that is home to some 2 million Palestinians. Using starvation as a weapon, Israel has blocked most humanitarian aid from entering Gaza and brought the territory’s healthcare system to the brink of collapse. Lives spared by Israeli airstrikes face hell on Earth, displaced many times over by the attacks while enduring famine, disease, and unimaginable psychological trauma.” (10/02/24)