“Israel has the right to defend itself.”
This is a phrase commonly used by many politicians when they are asked about giving military aid to the country. But can the conflict Israel is currently engaged in with Hamas be considered self-defense?
I believe in the right to self-defense, however I cannot condone the actions of Israel. The total destruction inflicted upon the Gaza Strip could never be interpreted as self-defense.
Currently, the U.S. gives Israel close to $3 or $4 billion in military aid every year. These aid packages have included missiles, bombs, jets and the Iron Dome defense system, which protects Israel from incoming rocket attacks.
On April 20, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that included $26 billion more for Israel, which is expected to pass through the Senate. Israel is free to use our aid without oversight from us. This money comes from the taxes U.S. citizens are required to pay, therefore we should have more of a say in how our funds should be used.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the Palestinian death toll exceeds 34,000 in addition to around 76,000 wounded in this conflict stemming from the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. This is compared to the estimated 1,400 Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers and Israeli citizens killed by Hamas as of April 2024. Many journalists were also killed as they covered the fighting, with current estimates at around 95 dead.
The infrastructure in Gaza has been severely undermined as the conflict carries on. About 35 percent of the buildings in Gaza have been damaged at the hands of the IDF, leaving very few safe havens for the refugees fleeing the conflict, who have no guarantee of safety. On March 18, the IDF besieged the largest hospital in Gaza, Al Shifa, for 14 days, which ended with its destruction.
On April 2, an Israeli attack resulted in seven World Central Kitchen Aid workers losing their lives after being struck three different times with missiles from a drone. These aid workers were in Gaza to distribute food to starving Palestinians. This only exacerbated the issue of supplying the people left in Gaza with food and medical aid. Many different border crossings into Israel are being blocked by Israeli protesters, unwilling to allow life-saving supplies to those in need.
Along with the destruction being done to Gaza, IDF soldiers are using social media to post videos of them committing atrocities. These include dragging dead bodies of Palestinian hostages behind trucks through the streets and ransacking demolished houses. One video had an IDF soldier pretending to sleep in a crib amongst the rubble of the building. It is hard to pretend that your side is justified in its actions when your soldiers act like that.
Recently President Joe Biden has attempted to reassure the public that he is pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu to “pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken,” as reported by The Associated Press. Unfortunately this seemed to have little effect, as the civilian death toll continues to rise.
However, with Israel and Iran exchanging blows, we should ask ourselves: Can we monetarily and morally stand with Israel fighting against Iran as well as Hamas? I, for one, cannot.
