Adding to the mountain of evidence that Israel is engaged in a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera on Thursday aired footage of what the news outlet reported was an Israeli drone targeting four Palestinians in Khan Younis last month.
Those killed by the unmanned aerial vehicle in the rubble of the southern Gaza city appear to be unarmed teenagers or young men. According to a translation of the coverage, they were not identified in the reporting.
Tariq Kenney-Shawa, Al-Shabaka’s U.S. policy fellow, said: “This is among the worst footage I’ve seen. Not only were these boys clearly unarmed and present no threat whatsoever, but they were struck multiple times even after stumbling/crawling away. There is no way they could have been considered combatants. This is unreal.”
Is it really so unpopular among actual people? It’s politically not popular, but people in the US are beginning to see the IDF and Israeli government for what they are. I have been seeing Palestinian flags and other shows of support all over since October, and Western media makes little attempt to justify the atrocities by the IDF in their reporting.
Oh absolutely. Israel’s popularity has taken a hit in the US (Down to 58%, source but the Palestinian Authority’s support is down to 18% (same source).
And when you look at specifically questions around Israel & Hamas’ handling and justification for conflict it’s no-contest (source. Nobody thinks Hamas’ actions were justifiable. That pew poll is pretty nuanced and lays it out pretty well. Most of Palestinians support is primarily focused on the human cost of the war; which the US is seen to be mitigating with it’s air drops and the port we’re building.
It’s not really surprising either. The older you are the more you’ve experienced Hamas/PA tactics and PR and the less susceptible you are to it. And Hamas is getting fairly good coverage here. There’s rarely a news article pointing out that US citizens are still being held hostage, for example.