US and Israeli Governments Unite in Genocide in Gaza: A Policy of "Breath-taking Cruelty"

Strategic Insights -

The US and Israeli governments have been united in a bipartisan policy of genocide in Gaza, with the Israeli and American flags serving as a cloak for the unconscionable atrocities inflicted on the Palestinian people. Recent reports of a potential ceasefire in Gaza have echoed familiar refrains from previous administrations, with the US and Israel maintaining a policy of "literally breath-taking cruelty." Last year, the UN reported that 80% of Gaza's population was facing famine or catastrophic hunger, with every single person in Gaza experiencing hunger and a quarter of the population starving.

Key Takeaways:

  • The US and Israeli governments have been united in a bipartisan policy of genocide in Gaza, with the intent to destroy the Palestinian people in whole or in part.
  • The international Genocide Convention defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group," which Israel's actions in Gaza clearly meet.
  • Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have concluded that Israel's actions in Gaza meet the definition of genocide, with exhaustive reports documenting Israel's use of starvation as a weapon of war.
  • Liberal Zionist groups in the US, such as J Street, have been part of the process of normalization and have failed to call for an end to shipments of US bombs and weapons to Israel.
  • The US news media and members of Congress have been reluctant to acknowledge the reality of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, with some even rejecting the allegation of genocide.

Statistics:

  • 80% of Gaza's population was facing famine or catastrophic hunger in 2024 (UN)
  • Every single person in Gaza was experiencing hunger in 2024 (UN)
  • A quarter of Gaza's population was starving and struggling to find food and drinkable water in 2024 (UN)
  • Famine was imminent in Gaza in 2024 (UN)
  • The ICJ ordered Israel to "immediately halt its military offensive" in Rafah in May 2024 (J Street)

Sources:

  • UN statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza (no date mentioned)
  • WHO credit for photo of UN staff and medical workers evacuating patients from a hospital in northern Gaza in late May 2025
  • J Street news release on the ICJ's decision in the case brought by South Africa against the Israeli government (January 2024)
  • J Street news release on the ICJ's order to halt the military offensive in Rafah (May 24, 2024)
  • The Nation article by Norman Solomon (no specific date mentioned)
  • IPS UN Bureau report on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza (no date mentioned)