Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent address to the United Nations General Assembly highlighted his steadfast position on the war in Gaza, despite widespread international condemnation.
Netanyahu asserted that if Hamas were to concur with Israel’s demands, the conflict could cease instantly.
However, this claim is contested as numerous ceasefire attempts have been obstructed by Israel, benefitting from unwavering political and military support from the United States.
Despite public protests from families of captives in Gaza and calls from thousands of Israelis demanding an end to hostilities and the return of their loved ones, Israel has consistently rejected ceasefire initiatives.
As a key example, on March 18, Israel undermined a previously agreed ceasefire deal by conducting an operation that resulted in the deaths of more than 400 Palestinians, thereby instituting a prolonged total blockade subsequently leading to a dire famine within the enclave.
More recently, Israel claimed it had consented to a new ceasefire proposal but immediately launched airstrikes, targeting Qatar in a bid to eliminate Hamas’s external political leadership, effectively extinguishing any prospects for negotiations.
In another significant claim, Netanyahu stated that Israel is meticulously working to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza.
Contradicting his assertion that the ratio of civilian to combatant casualties is “less than two to one,” an investigative report unveiled a confidential Israeli database indicating that a staggering 83 percent of those killed in Gaza have been civilians.
This investigation, conducted by +972 magazine, Local Call, and The Guardian, revealed that among nearly 8,900 individuals categorized as Hamas fighters, a considerable number were presumed to have been ‘probably’ killed, suggesting the actual civilian toll may be even higher.
Netanyahu further alleged that Hamas places civilians in jeopardy by utilizing them as human shields.
He reiterated that Hamas embeds itself within mosques, schools, and hospitals, coercing civilians to remain in perilous situations.
However, this claim has often served as justification for Israeli airstrikes on locations where civilians are gathered, including essential health and educational institutions, without providing any substantiating evidence of Hamas’s usage of civilian premises for military purposes.
Netanyahu contended that a nation committing genocide would not beseech civilians to vacate areas targeted by aerial bombardment.
He argued that the issuing of evacuation orders, which allows families only scant time to gather their belongings, refutes findings from various international entities that have concluded genocide is occurring in Gaza.
Prominent bodies including the International Court of Justice, a UN commission of inquiry, and numerous international human rights organizations such as B’Tselem and Amnesty International have unitedly claimed that Israel is perpetrating acts of genocide in Gaza.
Furthermore, the systematic blockade of humanitarian aid and the creation of hazardous living conditions, which frequently lead to the looting of aid, have been reported by UN officials and various organizations working on the ground in Gaza.
In response to claims that Israel is not obstructing aid while alleging that Hamas is responsible for the theft of humanitarian assistance, several investigations have contradicted this narrative.
Reports, including those from Israel’s own military and the U.S. foreign aid agency USAID, affirm that Hamas is not pilfering the limited aid that has been permitted into Gaza.
Contrarily, Israel has alternately enforced complete blockades on aid entering the territory, the most recent being between March and May of this year.
In May, Israel endorsed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as a conduit for distributing aid, which operates only in a handful of locations serving over two million residents of Gaza.
This initiative requires armed escorts from Israeli forces for the aid distribution process, resulting in the deaths of over a thousand individuals desperate for food aid.
Moreover, Netanyahu’s administration has openly acknowledged its support for a Palestinian militia in Gaza, which has been reported to engage in the looting of aid trucks.
Alongside claims regarding Gaza, Netanyahu addressed issues concerning Iran during his speech.
He asserted that Iran is swiftly advancing its nuclear weapons program, claiming it aims to obliterate Israel, intimidate the U.S., and blackmail various nations.
However, Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear ambitions are purely for civilian use, denying any intention to develop nuclear weapons.
While the International Atomic Energy Agency has not identified evidence of nuclear armament production in Iran, they have raised concerns regarding enrichment levels.
This stance stands in stark contrast to Israel, which is estimated to possess upwards of 90 nuclear warheads, according to multiple sources, including a report from the UK Parliament.
The House of Commons Library has also pointed out that Israel may still be producing plutonium for weaponry purposes, hinting at a potential triad for delivery by land, sea, and air.
Historically, the belief held in the 2000s that Tehran sought to construct a nuclear bomb led to UN sanctions, which were eventually lifted following the 2015 nuclear agreement that imposed strict limitations on Iran’s enrichment capabilities.
The unilateral withdrawal from this agreement by President Donald Trump in 2018 prompted Iran to progressively enhance its nuclear enrichment, now approaching 60 percent, which brings it closer to the threshold for a weapon, while Iran continues to assert its commitment against developing mass destruction armaments.
Netanyahu also claimed that Israel has successfully targeted Iran’s elite military leaders and nuclear scientists.
Although Israel has indeed assassinated numerous high-profile military commanders and scientists, Iranian authorities contest that such actions will not thwart the nation’s aspirations.
They assert that essential elements of their air defense systems remain intact, with some having been repaired or replaced, and the country has threatened to execute further retaliatory operations in response to ongoing Israeli aggression.
Additionally, Netanyahu claimed that Israel has effectively decimated half of the leadership of the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah, while also neutralizing the military capabilities of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
The Israeli military has conducted extensive and frequent strikes against Yemeni targets, particularly focusing on the Houthi command.
Nevertheless, despite these operations, the Houthi forces continue to engage in drone and missile attacks on Israel in opposition to the conflict in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
While Israel has successfully targeted key political and military figures within Hezbollah, including long-standing secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, the group remains defiant, promising to persist in its resistance against Israeli advancements.
In the context of Gaza, Israel has executed high-profile assassinations of senior Hamas political leaders both in and outside of Gaza; however, the organization continues to mount counterattacks against Israeli forces.
Simultaneously, in Syria, following the conclusion of Assad’s long-reigning leadership, Israeli military operations have persisted, resulting in the destruction of significant military infrastructure within the country.
Israel continues to maintain a military occupation of the Golan Heights and portions of southern Syria, justifying this on security grounds.
image source from：aljazeera
