The Silence of the Squadroons

While many Congressmen, both Democratic and Republican, were quick to praise the spectacular Israeli rescue of four hostages held by Hamas in Nuseirat, the anti-Israel Squadroons remained silent. After all, what could they say? The truth is that they would have been delighted had the rescue attempt failed, but alas for them, it did not. They have learned never to praise the Jewish state for anything. No doubt when they do decide to say something, it will be to condemn Israel — following the examples of Francesca Albanese and Josep Borrell — for a “massacre” of “innocent civilians.” Or more precisely, for a “massacre of 274 civilians, mostly women and children.” The figure of “274 civilians” comes from Hamas, which had originally said that “70” civilians had died, then upped the number within a few hours to 110, then to 210, and finally, it now appears to have settled on the figure of 274. There is no way to verify that figure. The IDF believes that it killed “under 100″ people, of whom dozens were members of Hamas.

Let’s remember that Hamas does have a long record of exaggerating the numbers killed by Israel. Remember the “massacre at Jenin”? Israel was accused of killing “500 civilians.” It turned out that 52 Palestinians were killed, at least 45 of whom were identified as members of Hamas. In Gaza last fall, the Hamas-directed Health Ministry claimed that an Israeli airstrike had killed “500 civilians” in the Al-Ahli Hospital. It later turned out that it had not been an Israeli airstrike on the hospital, but a missile fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad that had been launched at Israel, but had fallen short – misfired — inside Gaza, landing not in the hospital, but on the parking lot outside it, and finally, the number of casualties, according to both Israeli and American intelligence, was not 500 but fewer than 50. But the world’s media, ignoring these and other examples in the past of Hamas’ inflation of numbers, has already been repeating the claim that “274” civilians — “mostly women and children” — were killed during the rescue raid.

More on the Squad members studied silence about the raid can be found here: “Anti-Israel Members of US Congress Silent on Successful Hostage Rescue Operation, Tweet Against AIPAC Instead,” by Corey Walker, Algemeiner, June 10, 2024:

…Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) did not post a statement responding to the release of the hostages from the Nuseirat refugee camp. Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress, has repeatedly issued blistering condemnations of Israel, referring to the country as “Jewish supremacist” and accusing it of “apartheid” and “genocide.” In past statements Tlaib drew an equivalence between Israeli hostages in Gaza and so-called Palestinian “political prisoners” who are being held in Israeli prisons, in many cases for terrorism-related offenses. Last month, Tlaib gave a surprise speech at a conference tied to the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in which she lambasted Israel.

Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), another prominent anti-Israel member of Congress, has remained silent on the rescue of the four hostages in Gaza. Lee came under fire last July for voting “no” on a resolution that rejected the notion that Israel is a “racist state.” The congresswoman has voted against sending aid to help bolster Israel’s military operations against Hamas terrorists. Lee also called for an “immediate ceasefire” only nine days after Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel which left over 1,200 people dead. More than 250 people were taken to Gaza as hostages during the onslaught.

When Summer Lee called for a ceasefire on October 16, Israel had hardly begun its ground attack on Hamas in northern Gaza. It was only on October 13, just three days before Lee called for a ceasefire, that Israel began ground operations in Gaza in the form of small incursions and overnight raids. But Summer Lee wanted to protect Hamas from a full-scale invasion, which the IDF began only on October 27. She apparently thought no punishment needed to be meted out for the atrocities — the rapes, tortures, mutilations, and murders — that Hamas operatives committed on October 7.

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), one of the most left-wing members of Congress, has also refrained from commenting on Saturday’s successful IDF operation. Bush has repeatedly argued that Israel’s war against Hamas is tantamount to a “genocide.” She has accused the Jewish state of engaging in “ethnic cleansing” against Palestinians. The progressive lawmaker also donned a keffiyeh — a traditional Arab headdress that has been repurposed after Oct. 7 to symbolize solidarity with the Palestinian cause — in the halls of Congress.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), arguably the most prominent progressive in Congress, has kept mum regarding the hostage rescue. Ocasio-Cortez has previously denied that Israel is a democracy and accused the state of engaging in “apartheid.” Only weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorism, Ocasio-Cortez called for a “ceasefire” between Israel and the terrorist group. In March, the congresswoman accused Israel of inflicting a “famine” and “genocide” against civilians in Gaza.

There has been no “famine” in Gaza. In some places in the Strip, there is food insecurity, which is a different thing. Of the 2.2 million people in Gaza, fewer than 25 have been reported to have died from starvation. Israel has opened the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana Crossings to hundreds of trucks going daily into Gaza. Food delivered through the crossings, according to a recent study, “provided for a mean of 3,163 calories per person per day” for Gazans, 40% higher than the accepted humanitarian standard for daily calorie intake. More on the non-existent “famine” can be found here:

A group of highly respected academics and public health officials who authored a working paper on the amount of food entering the Gaza Strip during the war have concluded that the supply from January through April is sufficient for the population’s daily energy and protein needs.

“This in-depth analysis highlights the fact that the amount of food delivered per capita should be sufficient for the entire Gazan population, and meets Sphere humanitarian recommendations for food aid delivery to conflict-affected populations, during the period examined,” the new study found.

The authors also found that the amount of food entering Gaza was “significantly greater” in the January-April period under review than in the pre-October 7 period.

In other words, more food is entering Gaza now than at any time in the past.

The problem is not about the supply of food entering Gaza, but about its distribution once it is inside the Strip. Hamas operatives attack the aid trucks, and steal much of the aid for themselves and their extended families, as well as taking extra aid that they then sell, at inflated prices, to ordinary Gazans. This is well known inside Gaza, but few dare to speak about it openly — they fear the murderous wrath of Hamas.

Here is what the Squadroons will eventually say, one by one but as if in unison: ”While so many are celebrating the release of hostages, we cannot lose sight of the fact that 274 innocent civilians were killed by the Israeli military, and 700 more were wounded. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, most of those victims were women and children. They had nothing to do with the hostages. We cannot remain silent in the face of such an atrocity. We call on our government to halt all deliveries of weapons to Israel until every last Israeli soldier has been withdrawn from Gaza.”