Related I just read this article penned by an anonymous writer living in North Gaza, which is worth a read as we never hear voices from actual Gazans. He explains why in the piece.
Some quotes in no particular order, but the entire thing is worth reading for more.
“Hamas is exploiting the utter chaos prevailing in Gaza right now. Residents are offered neither solutions nor hope, and, consequently, are forced to yield to Hamas in order to survive.”
“Hamas claims to be the representative of the Palestinian people, presenting the October 7 terror attack and the ensuing war as benefiting the nation. But Hamas does not represent us, and since 2010 its rule is illegitimate. It sees our blood as fuel for its political ambitions and as a means of imposing its rule over all Palestinian territories. Its insistence on clinging to power in Gaza is causing the deaths of an enormous number of Palestinians.”
“We, the residents of Gaza, understand the suffering of the Israeli hostages better than anyone else in the world. They, like us, have been deprived of the most basic of rights: to decide our fates. They are being held captive underground while we are hostages above ground, in the big prison of Gaza.”
“Hamas will not surrender and will continue to sacrifice Gazans to their last drop of blood. Israel too will not stop its war as long as Hamas is in power. This means endless war. A political solution is required, with the establishment of a body that manages affairs in the Gaza Strip on the day after.”
“I wish for the release of the Israeli hostages to the same extent that I wish for my own liberation. I call on the world to relate to us just as it relates to them, as hostages, and save us from both the brutality of the Israeli occupation and from our Hamas kidnappers. This will only happen by exerting great pressure on our kidnappers and on Israel’s government so that they stop colluding against Gaza, and finally let us decide our own fate.”
“There is no atonement for the evil of a reality in which our kidnappers live comfortably in their palaces in Doha while we live in tents. If our kidnappers lived in tents, the war would have long been over. They don’t value our lives, as stated by senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad: “Even if Israel kills 100,000 of us, we won’t stop; that’s our winning card.” For them, we are bargaining chips. Israel kills us and they exploit our deaths in order to gain points and influence international opinion.”
NyriasNeo on
Terrorists just cannot stop doing terrorists stuff. Figures. Too chicken to go without your human shields, uh?
EatthisNotThat85 on
I thought Gazans see Hamas as their savior? Are they singing a different tune now?
EscaperX on
give up sinwar, and it all ends.
blackdynomitesnewbag on
When are they going to turn on Hamas?
rayliam on
For the Palestinian civilian population, this is just an exercise in Jihad. You don’t need to pick up a weapon or behead someone. Just existing, participating and suffering in the struggle against the Israelis is Jihad for them. And this writer is correct. They, Hamas – the power that is, don’t give a damn because they’re all supposed to martyr for the cause. They’ve been conned that this is greater than going to Mecca, or anything else, in their worthless lives created by their government. Meanwhile, these assholes in Doha get rich and these other assholes in bunkers praying, eating and fucking think they can just wait it out and hope that the rest of the world takes pity on the population they’ve conned. If Gazans aren’t willing to stand up against Hamas, then they’ve already made their beds. It’s literally almost fucking crickets when it comes to hearing voices for peaceful Palestinian opposition that doesn’t want to destroy Israel either.
Embarrassed_Ship1519 on
Hit back
ZizzyBeluga on
“Who amongst us, if they grew up under an occupation, wouldn’t beat innocent civilians trying to flee a war zone?” – Ta-Nehisi Coates, probably
ramman403 on
Bad human shield, BAD! Sit, STAY! Staaaay.
BrainEatingAmoeba01 on
So hit them back.
Light_fires on
They need “martyrs” even if they’re the unwilling kind.
trblcdn on
Hit back. Internal resistance has been effective in other wars.
NegevThunderstorm on
Almost like they elected a terrorist group to be the leaders
TheRiddler1976 on
Free Palestine from Hamas
Brilliant_User_7673 on
Hamas is trying to generate more civilian casualties and thus win more Useful Idiots worldwide.
Sadly, they don’t care much about their own people:
Hamas relies on the Israeli government’s aim to minimise collateral damage, and is also aware of the West’s sensitivity towards civilian casualties. Hamas’ use of human shields is therefore likely aimed at minimising their own vulnerabilities by limiting the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) freedom of action. It is also aimed at gaining diplomatic and public opinion-related leverage, by presenting Israel and the IDF as an aggressor that indiscriminately strikes civilians.
Hamas’ most common uses of human shields include:
1) Firing rockets, artillery, and mortars from or in proximity to heavily populated civilian areas, often from or near facilities which shoula be protected according to the Geneva convention (e.g. schools, hospitals, or mosques).
2) Locating military or security-related infrastructures such as HQs, bases, armouries, access routes, lathes, or defensive positions within or in proximity to civilian areas.
3) Protecting terrorists’ houses and military facilities, or rescuing terrorists who were besieged or warned by the IDF.
4) Combating the IDF from or in proximity to residential and commercial areas, including using civilians for intelligence gathering missions.
By engaging in these acts, Hamas employs a win-win scenario: if indeed the IDF uses kinetic power, and the number of civilian causalities surges, Hamas can use that as a weapon in the lawfares it conducts. It would be able to accuse the IDF (and Israel) of committing war crimes, which in turn could result in the imposition of a wide array of sanctions. On the other hand, if the IDF limits its use of military power in Gaza to avoid collateral damage Hamas will be less vulnerable to Israeli attacks, and thereby able to protect its assets while continuing to fight.
Is it really that surprising that Hamas would resort to this? Might they be trying to create this reaction?
And Iran’s response to deploying the obvious countermeasure to ballistic missile attacks on civilian population centers is to call it “dangerous escalation”:
35 Comments
Related I just read this article penned by an anonymous writer living in North Gaza, which is worth a read as we never hear voices from actual Gazans. He explains why in the piece.
Some quotes in no particular order, but the entire thing is worth reading for more.
Israel is killing us. But Hamas is exploiting our deaths https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-10-14/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israel-is-killing-us-but-hamas-is-exploiting-our-deaths/00000192-8a26-d569-a3be-deafecdf0000?utm_source=App_Share&utm_medium=iOS_Native
“Hamas is exploiting the utter chaos prevailing in Gaza right now. Residents are offered neither solutions nor hope, and, consequently, are forced to yield to Hamas in order to survive.”
“Hamas claims to be the representative of the Palestinian people, presenting the October 7 terror attack and the ensuing war as benefiting the nation. But Hamas does not represent us, and since 2010 its rule is illegitimate. It sees our blood as fuel for its political ambitions and as a means of imposing its rule over all Palestinian territories. Its insistence on clinging to power in Gaza is causing the deaths of an enormous number of Palestinians.”
“We, the residents of Gaza, understand the suffering of the Israeli hostages better than anyone else in the world. They, like us, have been deprived of the most basic of rights: to decide our fates. They are being held captive underground while we are hostages above ground, in the big prison of Gaza.”
“Hamas will not surrender and will continue to sacrifice Gazans to their last drop of blood. Israel too will not stop its war as long as Hamas is in power. This means endless war. A political solution is required, with the establishment of a body that manages affairs in the Gaza Strip on the day after.”
“I wish for the release of the Israeli hostages to the same extent that I wish for my own liberation. I call on the world to relate to us just as it relates to them, as hostages, and save us from both the brutality of the Israeli occupation and from our Hamas kidnappers. This will only happen by exerting great pressure on our kidnappers and on Israel’s government so that they stop colluding against Gaza, and finally let us decide our own fate.”
“There is no atonement for the evil of a reality in which our kidnappers live comfortably in their palaces in Doha while we live in tents. If our kidnappers lived in tents, the war would have long been over. They don’t value our lives, as stated by senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad: “Even if Israel kills 100,000 of us, we won’t stop; that’s our winning card.” For them, we are bargaining chips. Israel kills us and they exploit our deaths in order to gain points and influence international opinion.”
Terrorists just cannot stop doing terrorists stuff. Figures. Too chicken to go without your human shields, uh?
I thought Gazans see Hamas as their savior? Are they singing a different tune now?
give up sinwar, and it all ends.
When are they going to turn on Hamas?
For the Palestinian civilian population, this is just an exercise in Jihad. You don’t need to pick up a weapon or behead someone. Just existing, participating and suffering in the struggle against the Israelis is Jihad for them. And this writer is correct. They, Hamas – the power that is, don’t give a damn because they’re all supposed to martyr for the cause. They’ve been conned that this is greater than going to Mecca, or anything else, in their worthless lives created by their government. Meanwhile, these assholes in Doha get rich and these other assholes in bunkers praying, eating and fucking think they can just wait it out and hope that the rest of the world takes pity on the population they’ve conned. If Gazans aren’t willing to stand up against Hamas, then they’ve already made their beds. It’s literally almost fucking crickets when it comes to hearing voices for peaceful Palestinian opposition that doesn’t want to destroy Israel either.
Hit back
“Who amongst us, if they grew up under an occupation, wouldn’t beat innocent civilians trying to flee a war zone?” – Ta-Nehisi Coates, probably
Bad human shield, BAD! Sit, STAY! Staaaay.
So hit them back.
They need “martyrs” even if they’re the unwilling kind.
Hit back. Internal resistance has been effective in other wars.
Almost like they elected a terrorist group to be the leaders
Free Palestine from Hamas
Hamas is trying to generate more civilian casualties and thus win more Useful Idiots worldwide.
Sadly, they don’t care much about their own people:
https://m.jpost.com/middle-east/article-824521
…if they did care, they could have ended this war, yesterday: Just return the hostages and surrender.
Tragic.
These were the same people chanting ‘Happy October’ exactly a year ago. Life has come full circle indeed.
Free Palestine from Hamas!
What more proof of a human shield would you want than this
Looks like things in Gaza are getting worse. There are reports that Hamas is beating up civilians who are trying to leave, which is causing a lot of anger among the people there. I even saw some footage that allegedly shows Hamas snipers shooting at those trying to evacuate. It’s a mess and highlights the serious humanitarian crisis happening right now. [Israel loosing support ](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0vewvp14zdo)[IDF beatings](https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-hamas-beating-civilians-blocking-them-from-evacuating-to-humanitarian-zones/)
Yes, and here is what NATO have long assessed to be Hamas’ tactics in this conflict: https://stratcomcoe.org/cuploads/pfiles/hamas_human_shields.pdf
Hamas relies on the Israeli government’s aim to minimise collateral damage, and is also aware of the West’s sensitivity towards civilian casualties. Hamas’ use of human shields is therefore likely aimed at minimising their own vulnerabilities by limiting the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) freedom of action. It is also aimed at gaining diplomatic and public opinion-related leverage, by presenting Israel and the IDF as an aggressor that indiscriminately strikes civilians.
Hamas’ most common uses of human shields include:
1) Firing rockets, artillery, and mortars from or in proximity to heavily populated civilian areas, often from or near facilities which shoula be protected according to the Geneva convention (e.g. schools, hospitals, or mosques).
2) Locating military or security-related infrastructures such as HQs, bases, armouries, access routes, lathes, or defensive positions within or in proximity to civilian areas.
3) Protecting terrorists’ houses and military facilities, or rescuing terrorists who were besieged or warned by the IDF.
4) Combating the IDF from or in proximity to residential and commercial areas, including using civilians for intelligence gathering missions.
By engaging in these acts, Hamas employs a win-win scenario: if indeed the IDF uses kinetic power, and the number of civilian causalities surges, Hamas can use that as a weapon in the lawfares it conducts. It would be able to accuse the IDF (and Israel) of committing war crimes, which in turn could result in the imposition of a wide array of sanctions. On the other hand, if the IDF limits its use of military power in Gaza to avoid collateral damage Hamas will be less vulnerable to Israeli attacks, and thereby able to protect its assets while continuing to fight.
Is it really that surprising that Hamas would resort to this? Might they be trying to create this reaction?
> https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/13/lebanon-hunger-starvation-malnutrition-israel-attacks
We already know Sinwar’s response to being surrounded is to surround himself with hostages and turn himself into a bomb:
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/02/26/sinwar-hamas-tunnels-israel-gaza/
And Iran’s response to deploying the obvious countermeasure to ballistic missile attacks on civilian population centers is to call it “dangerous escalation”:
> https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-hezbollah-mideast-latest-13-october-2024-831d0015964897d4c9d9d2046c5feb75
And here was our starting point to all of this :
> https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/12/world/middleeast/hamas-israel-war.html
That’s the foreign policy equivalent of this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARVO
This is what authoritarians and authoritarian regimes do.
Don’t show this to college students in the U.S.
Newsflash: terrorist organizations like hamas are the bad guys. They probably shouldn’t have voted for them.
They still have sticks. Jobs not done, boys.
Their shields are getting away.
Free Palestine!….from Hamas.
Where is the pro pali crowd? Silent that is where bec they are full of it
Hamas is treating them worse than cattle, yet they still support Hamas? They have only themselves to blame for their suffering.
Palestinians caught between evil and evil.
Why is this not being reported on the BBC?
How could Israel do this!?!
This whole situation just sucks dude. So tragic.
They used to do it with bullets. Glad Israel destroyed or captured so many of their weapons.
The only source you get is one IDF soldier. Seems very trustworthy.
Hamas is committing genocide