The following has been adapted from a leaflet PDF file. (See Appendix for how to print the PDF file, from which this article was adapted.) In the face of overwhelming votes for a ceasefire by both the United Nations General Assembly on 22 December and by several meetings of the UN Security Council, the Israeli ‘Defence’ Forces (IDF) have continued their latest war against the men women, children and babies of the Gaza Strip. This war began on 7 October, 134 days ago. Since then, with aerial bombardment, tank and artillery shells, rocket fire, banned phophorous, bullets - and who knows what else – the IDF have killed as many unarmed Palestinians in Gaza as they were able to. At the outset of this war, Israel also cut off power and stopped supplies of food, water, medicine and other essentials from going into Gaza, thereby causing many to die of starvation, thirst and illness.

So far, more than 28,000 Palestinians are known to have been killed. Thousands more could be buried beneath the rubble which had previously been their residences, schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, etc. By this barbarity, Netanyahu plans to make those Palestinians not yet dead, flee in terror so as to finally remove from ‘Israel’ 2.2 million of the children and grandchildren of the original inhabitants from whom most of the land was stolen in 1948. After this, much of the same is expected for the West Bank.

UN staff and journalists in Gaza have also been deliberately killed by the IDF. As of 23 December, 136 UN staff and 88 journalists, as well as members of their families, are known to have been killed.

Netanyahu’s ‘October 7’ pretext for genocide

On 7 October, Palestinian Hamas resistance fighters from Gaza launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and overwhelmed the IDF forces who had been on or near the borders of the besieged Gaza strip. Almost 1,000 of the IDF were killed . On that day, 260 Israeli civilians, who were attending the Supernova Music Festival, also died. The Hamas fighters had captured them and wanted to take them back to Gaza to exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on the West Bank, few of whom had even been charged by Israel of any crime.

IDF ordered to kill ‘terrorists’ regardless of the consequences for their hostages

However, the IDF forces, who had been sent there were given orders to kill the Hamas ’terrorists’ regardless of the consequences for their hostages. The IDF, and not Hamas, opened fired first. Much of the damage to buildings and cars as well as the burning alive of some Israelis could not have been done by the Hamas fighters who were only armed with rifles and grenades.

Still, Hamas has been unjustly vilified for the 260 deaths. Notwithstanding the denial of their liberty in being take hostage, several other former captives, who lived, have testified to the humane treatment they were given by their Hamas captives. One includes 85-year-old Yochevid Lifschitz, pictured above.

Why won’t Australia act to make Israel end its killing in Gaza?

Instead of acting to stop this genocide, Australia continues to export weapons and munitions to Israel. How could anyone, with the least streak of human compassion within them, not feel anything other than revulsion at Israel’s cold-blooded killing of so many Palestinians and not want to do everything within their power to end this?

Yemen’s selfless support for Palestine

One country which has acted accordingly is Yemen. In the Red Sea, the heroic Yemeni armed forces have impounded one ship laden with cargo for Israel, and have hit others, which have not responded to radio communications, wirh rockets. By thus blocking the Red Sea for Israel, Yemen has greatly impacted the economy of the murderous Netanyahu regime. In spite of aerial and naval bombardment by the UK and the US, the people of Yemen remain defiant. Why can’t Australia at least refuse to let Israeli ships dock here?

Update (18/2/2024) : At least 5 people have been killed and 20 arrested by Israel in the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. In spite of pleas from the International comunity, Israel is preparing to attack Rafah, right on the border of Egypt. Previously Palestinians had been ordered by Israeli President Netanyahu to flee there from the north of the Gaza Strip, supposedly for their safety.

How you can help in Melbourne: protest each Sunday at the State Library starting 12pm

Each Sunday, come to protest against genocide and hear speeches outside the State Library. A march through the Melbourne CBD to State Parliament will follow.

Appendix: How to print the attached PDF File

(23/3/24) For reasons which are unclear to me. Officeworks has recently changed their printers so that it is no longer possible to directly print to both sides of an A4 sheet from a PDF file. Their printers will now only print to one side of an A4 sheet. So, to print the (now updated) double-sided leaflet onto both sides of an A4 sheet, it is now necessary to:

(1) Print two single sided master copies from the attached PDF file;

(2) Place those 2 master copies face-down in the in-tray of the photocopier/printer but with the second orientated 180 degrees from the second;

(3) After asuccessful trial photocopying of one double-sided A4 sheet, place the 2 master copies back in the in-tray then select the number of copies you wish to print - 50 for 100 double-sided A5 leaflets, 100 for 200 double-sided A5 leaflets, etc. The cost of printing is 10 cents per side. So the cost of photocopying a single double-sided A4 sheet is 20 cents, hence 10 cents per double-sided A5 sheet.

(4) After you have correctly photocopied the required number of A4 sheets, ask the Officeworks staff to guillotine the block of photocopied A4 sheets into two blocks of A5 sheets. They typically charge $1 for this service.