Following the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, myths surrounding both the background of the conflict, and the conduct of both sides in the war, perpetuate the demonisation of Israel. These have helped to bolster support for Hamas across the world. I hope to shed some light on two of these myths:
An ‘open-air prison’
Even before the latest war, critics of Israel spread the myth that Gaza’s residents lived in an ‘open-air prison’. “Israel’s sweeping restrictions on leaving Gaza deprive its more than two million residents of opportunities to better their lives”, Human Rights Watch said on the fifteenth anniversary of the 2007 border closure. “The closure has devastated the economy in Gaza, contributed to fragmentation of the Palestinian people, and forms part of Israeli authorities’ crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against millions of Palestinians.”
This criticism comes in spite of Human Rights Watch acknowledging that, “Israeli authorities have said they want to minimize travel between Gaza and the West Bank to prevent the export of a human terrorist network from Gaza to the West Bank, which has a porous border with Israel and where hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live.”1 Now, in the light of the massive penetration of the border which took place the following year through Nahal Oz on October 7th 2023, it’s only too clear that the risk was high. Among the tactics used by Hamas in 2023 was the release of a toxic gas that caused suffocation and loss of consciousness within a few minutes of exposure, killing 22 of the border surveillance staff.2
Yet even despite the challenges, prior to the recent massacre, about 18,500 Gazans had acquired Israeli government permits that enabled them to work inside Israel, mainly in agriculture and construction.
Looking back, we can see that following the 1967 war, early hopes of local rapprochement had been developing, with some thousands of Palestinians crossing daily to work on Israeli farms. Israeli crop expert Yankale Cohen, nicknamed ‘Mr. Potato’, advised Gaza farmers on planting and processing. Many older Israelis remember regular trips to Gaza for shopping and medical care. The first Palestinian intifada, which erupted in 1987, put paid to that, a divide cemented once Hamas seized control two years after Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.3 Yet even despite the challenges, prior to the recent massacre, about 18,500 Gazans had acquired Israeli government permits that enabled them to work inside Israel, mainly in agriculture and construction.4
Reaching across the divide
Furthermore, our western media ignore the many ‘peaceniks’ who lived in the border kibbutzim, extending the hand of friendship. A kibbutznik friend told the reporter Barbara Sofer, “My grandparents founded our kibbutz to be a protective buffer for Israel, and that’s what we have been. …. He [the grandfather]is a Hadassah paediatric cardiologist who has saved the lives of hundreds of Gazan children. When I phoned him after sunset on October 7th he still had his gun aimed toward the door of his safe room. ‘I’m an expert cardiologist, but I’m also an IDF sharpshooter,’ he said. ‘No one is getting to my family’”.5
Our western media ignore the many ‘peaceniks’ who lived in the border kibbutzim, extending the hand of friendship.
Family and friends of 74-year-old Vivian Silver, a prominent Israeli peace activist, commemorated her life on November 14th 2023, after authorities confirmed she had been killed by Hamas militants on October 7th. Vivian lived in Kibbutz Be’eri, where more than 100 people were killed on Oct. 7. She had moved to Israel from Canada in 1974 and was a founding member of Women Wage Peace, campaigning for peace between Israel and Palestinians. This kibbutz is a largely secular, left-wing community, established in 1946 with the ideal of creating a collective, egalitarian farming community. Like many of the residents, she had Palestinian and Arab friends, one of whom, Ghadeer Hani, spoke to the mourners on Thursday, saying they had texted each other even as Hamas gunmen roamed the kibbutz: “You told me that you were fine, but that you heard sounds outside the window of the shelter ... the minutes passed, and the next messages I sent were never received”.6
Israel’s ‘targeted starvation campaign’ myth
Here’s a second example of myth: “According to a group of UN experts, as of July 2024, Israel's ‘targeted starvation campaign’ had spread throughout the entire Gaza Strip”.7 There is no doubt that some Gaza residents are struggling to get sufficient nutrition amidst the horrors of war. Yet the reason for much of this is because Hamas has established a systematic operation of intercepting humanitarian aid shipments destined for Gaza residents. As reported by journalist Ariel Kahana “Armed operatives commandeer supply trucks carrying internationally-funded cargo transported by the IDF, then resell essential supplies at premium prices to the local population. ‘The resale of international aid has become their dominant revenue stream,’ a senior security official told Israel Hayom. These proceeds finance both existing military operatives’ salaries and new recruitment efforts targeting Gaza youth.”8 In the same article, a Reuters photo by Kosay al-Nemer shows a crowd of Gazans raiding an intercepted aid truck for bags of flour, before it reached Hamas.
Whilst there can be no doubt that the war has devastated Gaza’s agriculture and economy, causing significant misery, as all war inevitably does, one must ask if there is any kind of truth in such allegations against Israel.
Under the headline on July 9th 2024, “UN experts declare famine has spread throughout Gaza Strip”, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights cite the tragic death of three children: “Fayez Ataya, who was barely six months old, died on 30 May 2024 and 13-year-old Abdulqader Al-Serhi died on 1 June 2024 at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah. Nine-year-old Ahmad Abu Reida died on 3 June 2024 in the tent sheltering his displaced family in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis. All three children died from malnutrition and lack of access to adequate healthcare.” Yet despite providing no further evidence or statistics, one of their conclusions is, “there is no doubt that famine has spread from northern Gaza into central and southern Gaza.” This report then jumps to the outrageous allegation that, “We declare that Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza.”9
Whilst there can be no doubt that the war has devastated Gaza’s agriculture and economy, causing significant misery, as all war inevitably does, one must ask if there is any kind of truth in such allegations against Israel? On February 5th 2024, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced that the previous day, the government unit supporting Israel’s humanitarian efforts facilitated “the highest number of humanitarian aid trucks inspected and transferred in one day since the start of the war”. This entailed the inspection of 112 humanitarian aid trucks at the Nitzana and Rafah crossings as well as 159 aid trucks via Kerem Shalom — all near the Egyptian border. Most trucks carried food. Israel also affirmed its support of “essential infrastructure in Gaza” by coordinating repairs and delivering four tankers of cooking gas. The IDF paused nearby military operations to ensure these humanitarian trucks’ safe transit into Gaza.10 A BBC report depicts “the daily scramble for bread”, acknowledging, “There is food in Gaza ….. if you can get your hands on it …. If you can afford it.”11 There is no comment whatever on Hamas’s stranglehold on supplies.
How feasible would it be for the IDF to adequately police this situation, considering the conflict?
Attacking and looting
A Reuters report filed by David Gauthier-Villars, Nidal Al-Mughrabi and John Davison on Christmas Eve, 2024, alleges “Israel has failed to crack down on armed gangs attacking food convoys in Gaza, despite a pledge to do so in mid-October to help ward off famine in the Palestinian enclave, according to three U.N. and U.S. officials familiar with the matter.” It states, “In October, $9.5 million worth of food and other goods – nearly a quarter of all the humanitarian aid sent to Gaza that month – was lost because of attacks and looting, according to a previously unreported tally of incidents compiled by U.N. relief agencies with charity organizations. The assessment of looting in November is still underway, but preliminary data shows that it was far worse, two people familiar with the matter said.”12
Surely, it is staggeringly illogical and irresponsible to put such blame on Israel. How feasible would it be for the IDF to adequately police this situation, considering the conflict? Yet the website Politico alleges “Israel should explore alternative channels for aid distribution that will reach the people of Gaza rather than directly feeding Hamas.” However, they affirm Israel’s determination to ensure adequate supplies:
“Despite dissenting voices within the country advocating for the suspension of any humanitarian aid into Gaza until the return of all hostages — or at least confirmation of their well-being — such concerns were set aside, and Israel permitted humanitarian aid to flow into the enclave, with the first aid convoys arriving two weeks after the start of the war.” They acknowledge, “As witnessed by the people of Gaza, and documented on social media, Hamas operatives have been hijacking aid trucks entering the enclave, preventing essential items from reaching the local population. …. and most notably, the U.N. organization tasked with overseeing the distribution of these supplies — the United Nations Relief and Works Agency — has been accused of assisting Hamas rather than prioritizing the citizens of Gaza.”13
How much more detail is needed for our Western media to stop blaming Israel for such Palestinian crimes?
On November 16th last year a convoy of 109 UN aid lorries carrying food was violently looted in Gaza. Ninety-seven of the lorries were lost and their drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload their aid after passing through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing with southern Gaza, in what is believed to have been one of the worst incidents of its kind.14
War is terrible, and suffering on all sides should not be ignored, but the unwarranted demonisation of Israel has had catastrophic consequences – with nearly half the global population now holding anti-Semitic views. How much more detail is needed for our Western media to stop blaming Israel for such Palestinian crimes?
Notes
1. Gaza: Israel’s ‘Open-Air Prison’ at 15 | Human Rights Watch 14 Jun 2022
2. https://www.timesofisrael.com/nahal-oz-troops-killed-by-toxic-gas-during-oct-7-hamas-attack-idf-probe-said-to-show/ 13 Dec 2023
3. https://apnews.com/article/nahal-oz-kibbutz-israel-hamas-war-602 27 Mar 2024
4. The Blogs: Israel's dilemma regarding Palestinian workers | Sheldon Kirshner | The Times of Israel 17 Jan 2024
5. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-815885 25 Aug 2024
6. https://www.reuters.com/world/the-peace-movement-was-orphaned-says-son-activist-killed-oct-7-2023-11-16/ 16 Nov 2023
7. U.N. experts say Gaza children dying in Israeli "targeted starvation campaign" - CBS News 09 Jul 2024
8. https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/01/09/humanitarian-absurdity-hamas-sells-aid-to-gazans-uses-profits-to-pay-operatives/ 09 Jan 2025
9. UN experts declare famine has spread throughout Gaza strip | OHCHR 09 Jul 2024
10. Israel Facilitates Record Aid to Gaza 05 Feb 2024
11. BBC reports on Gaza starvation after US 30-day aid deadline passes -YouTube – Middle East Eye – Dec 2024
12. Looting cripples food supply in Gaza as Israel neglects pledge to tackle gangs, sources say | Reuters 24 Dec 2024
13. The paradox of humanitarian aid to Gaza – POLITICO 01 Feb 2024
14. Almost 100 Gaza aid lorries violently looted, UN agency Unrwa says - BBC News 18 Nov 2024
