It’s one thing to report on recorded testimonies, but it’s another to use non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with clear agendas to endorse these comparisons of wartime hardship to Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. Yet, this is exactly what the New York Times guest essay by Dr. Ferose Sidhwa titled “65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza” pushes forward.
Look at the depths @nytimes has sunk to—platforming vile comparisons between the Holocaust and Gaza. https://t.co/TW2mrHKebY pic.twitter.com/ju503LlKdg
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) October 9, 2024
The piece suggests that what American physicians and nurses witnessed in Gaza should shape U.S. policy. It also references what Human Rights Watch calls “indiscriminate military violence,” Oxfam‘s claims of deliberate restrictions on food and aid, and the near-universal displacement of the population—all serving as a prelude to drawing comparisons with Holocaust atrocities.
But here’s the truth: these claims, no matter how alarming, do not equal genocide, and they certainly do not equate to the systematic extermination of six million Jews, who were starved, tortured, and murdered at the hands of Nazi Germany. To invoke such a parallel is not only absurd—it’s a disgraceful trivialization of one of the darkest chapters in human history.
The atrocities of the Holocaust are far graver, and they are being shamefully diluted in the context of a complex war and the propaganda efforts of Hamas, a terror group that has ruled Gaza for over two decades. Hamas has repeatedly abused its own people, using them as human shields and exploiting civilian suffering for political gain.
Here’s why comparing this war to the Holocaust is morally reprehensible:
- The IDF is not storming homes to tear families apart or beating pregnant women.
- Israel isn’t forcing entire villages to dig their own graves only to shoot them in cold blood.
- The IDF isn’t hurling infants into mass graves or executing people in front of their loved ones.
- There are no cattle cars shipping Gazans off to ghettos or camps to be starved or gassed.
- Israel is not conducting barbaric experiments on Gazan civilians to render them sterile.
The list goes on. Israel is not killing Palestinians in an orchestrated attempt to erase their existence. Israel’s aim is clear: to defeat a terrorist regime that has held its own people hostage for two decades and threatens Israel’s very survival.
Hamas’ October 7 massacre was a pogrom—rooted in the same ideology of Nazi hatred, involving mass murder, rape, and torture. But the world somehow overlooks this.
Indiscriminate Military Violence and the Healthcare System
The IDF operates with strict adherence to minimizing civilian harm. Civilian casualties, tragic as they are, often occur because Hamas uses hospitals and schools as shields, embedding themselves within civilian infrastructure. The evidence is irrefutable, corroborated by the UN, EU, U.S., and even Hamas operatives.
As stated by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit in the piece:
The I.D.F. is committed to mitigating civilian harm during operational activity. In that spirit, the I.D.F. makes great efforts to estimate and consider potential civilian collateral damage in its strikes. The I.D.F. is fully committed to respecting all applicable international legal obligations, including the Law of Armed Conflict.
What the essay fails to acknowledge is that Hamas itself bears the blame for the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system. If Hamas didn’t use hospitals as command centers, civilian casualties would plummet.
Watch this video showing a Hamas spokesperson encouraging Palestinians to sacrifice themselves by staying in these areas as far back as 10 years ago:
And here’s a clip of a terrorist, captured after the October 7 massacre, admitting how Hamas and Islamic Jihad use hospitals like Al-Shifa for their operations:
There are also reports of minors and women being used as scouts for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and accounts of Hamas firing on civilians attempting to flee danger zones. Based on the testimonies of healthcare workers, there is no clear explanation of how such incidents, like civilians being shot in the head, occurred or under what circumstances.
Displacement and Humanitarian Aid
Displacement is undeniably devastating, but the IDF takes extensive measures to evacuate civilians to save lives. If civilians weren’t evacuated, how would Israel be expected to fight Hamas or rescue remaining hostages without causing casualties?
As for reports of malnutrition: the claim that people have lost weight may be true, but is the conclusion that this is solely due to Israel’s actions? HonestReporting has covered the reality behind the claims of starvation in Gaza, and the facts don’t match the narrative being pushed.
Moreover, the IDF has repeatedly clarified that aid is not being restricted. In fact, Gazans themselves have protested Hamas’ theft of funds and humanitarian aid intended for the civilian population. Yet, according to Sidhwa, these healthcare workers’ testimonies should “inform the U.S.’ Gaza policy”? Based on what? That war is devastating? Certainly—but the real question is why this war is happening in the first place. Sidhwa’s implication that Israel is solely to blame is an abject departure from the truth.
This conflict isn’t about body counts on both sides. It begins and ends with a terror group that holds an extremist ideology, one committed to destroying the only Jewish state and eradicating its people.
The media need to drop the sensationalism and focus on the real issue: why this war is being fought. Civilians are suffering because Hamas, a ruthless terror group, drags them into the crossfire to shield its operations and fuel its propaganda. This is not a war of equal sides—it’s a battle against evil, and that’s where the attention should be.
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