Israel—and its supporters—regularly claim that Palestinians lie about how many Palestinians have been killed and injured as a result of Israeli violence. Experts who watch the statistics closely, disagree.
On 19 February 2024, the UN raised the alarm about widespread, ongoing human rights violations against Palestinian women & girls, including allegations of rape in detention.
Two days later, on 21 February 2024, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) released a 39-page report titled, “Sexual Crimes in the October 7 War”, accusing HAMAS of a systematic rape plan during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood primarily relying on recycled, already-published and widely debunked propaganda.
The urgency of the UN press release to raise the alarm about violations of Palestinian women and girls—including credible extrajudicial killings—is that violations are ONGOING, not a historical event that took place 5 months ago. Israel’s distraction from ongoing human rights violations is dangerous to Palestinian women and girls.
Along the lines of the Guardian’s excellent January 30th multimedia report on Gaza’s destruction, today Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz published a similar piece, titled, “Gazans Fled Their Homes. They Have Nowhere to Return to”. The subheader adds, “‘It’s Mind-blowing’: 1.7 Million Palestinians Escaped Israel’s Bombardment of Gaza. Most of Their Homes Have Been Damaged or Destroyed”.
While Internet claims of HAMAS atrocities perpetrated against Israeli babies had circulated from October 7, the “HAMAS beheaded 40 babies” story started to spread in earnest after the IDF arranged a October 10 tour for foreign journalists of the Kfar Aza town in Israel.
