There was a time, brief as it was, when the apartheid state attacking a Palestinian hospital was a source of global outcry. Not to say that western powers chose to do anything about it, but at the very least it raised some questions. That was about 20 hospitals and 15,000 murders ago. Now, more than two months later, Doctors Without Borders can release a statement detailing how Israel is attacking a hospital in the West Bank and nobody bats an eye.
According to MSF (that’s Médecins Sans Frontières), Israeli forces stopped ambulances taking discharged patients home outside Khalil Suleiman hospital in Jenin. Paramedics and ambulance drivers were ordered out of the ambulances, stripped and made to kneel in the street while the patients were left in the ambulances. Bear in mind Jenin is located in the West Bank, completely separate from Gaza and lacking even the flimsy excuse of a “Hamas command center”.
“Since 7 October, we have seen Israeli forces fire live bullets at the hospital, tear gas the hospital, block ambulances, humiliate and harass medical staff, and now – shoot and kill someone in the hospital compound...”
-MSF
When your military is being called out for its war crimes by an international medical humanitarian organization dedicated to saving lives, it might be time to question why you’re still choosing to support an apartheid regime.
CNN was finally able to get one of their journalists into Gaza to provide this “exclusive coverage”, which is only a little insulting considering the Palestinian journalists who have risked their lives (and often lost their lives) for the past 68 days to provide on-the-ground coverage of what Israel is doing. The coverage isn’t groundbreaking, it’s exactly as horrific as you might imagine, but because it’s being explained by a white lady I guess it means more to a certain audience.
Jewish protesters in Los Angeles yesterday shut down the 110 freeway demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. Every lane of traffic was blocked as protesters lined up and sat down along the southbound side of the freeway. 75 people were eventually arrested, according to the California Highway Patrol, but not before they made clear that the genocide in Gaza won’t be ignored. In Washington, Biden staffers organized a vigil right outside the white house calling on the president to call for a ceasefire. In all likelihood he won’t, because he’s a coward and a fool, but shoutout to those workers who refuse to stand by and allow this violence to be normalized.
I don’t want you to be desensitized to the endless violence, but I also want you to know that the violence is beyond our imagination and it’s only getting worse. If you feel overwhelmed by what’s happening that’s only a reminder that you are human. To be silent now is to give up. Don’t give up.
Side Items
Oh Draymond: Draymond Green, the perennially-controversial player for the Golden State Warriors, was suspended indefinitely by the NBA yesterday, less than 24 hours after he smacked Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic with a spinning backhand in the middle of a game. This is already Draymond’s second suspension of the season, and his repeated unruly and violent behavior has led some people (me) to question his ties to the Israeli military. In a perfect world, his suspension would be the biggest news of the day and I’d be able to dedicate 500 - 1,000 words ranking all of Draymond’s violent on-court antics, but alas, this world is far from perfect and there are much more important things happening