A recap of events, sticking only to the facts so far:
1. For 17 years, the people of Gaza have lived under an illegal blockade. Half of the population are children. Over 90 percent of the drinking water is contaminated. Over half the population are unemployed. Over half the population are considered refugees. Most are descendants of refugees who fled during the Nakba - Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
2. Over the course of years Israel has refused offers of a truce in exchange for lifting the blockade, which is an illegal form of collective punishment under international law. David Cameron, when he was prime minister of the UK, said the blockade had turned Gaza into "a prison camp".
3. Last week, people of Gaza broke out of the world's largest concentration camp and launched an attack on Israel.
4. There is still no evidence of the claim of 40 beheaded babies, the mass rave slaughter, or the attack aiming to target civilians. The original source for the 40 beheaded babies claim was a radical settler who has advocated genocide of Palestinians. We have been given an alleged picture of the charred remains of a baby by the Israeli government. We do not know how or where this baby died. Stories of atrocities were reported on uncritically by the mainstream media across the West.
5. Israel's defense minister said they were fighting "human animals" and cut off all water, electricity, fuel and food into Gaza. At the same time, Netanyahu told the Israeli people to prepare for a long war, meaning Israel intends to starve Gaza's civilian population of essential supplies for a long time. Collective punishment is a war crime.
6. Norman Finkelstein, the world's foremost expert on the Israel/Palestine conflict, said he believes the denial of food and water to Gaza, and the promise of a long war, constitutes the beginning of a genocide against the people of Gaza.
7. An elected member of the Israeli ruling party called for a "second Nakba" on the Palestinians. Another member of the Israeli Knesset said there are "no innocents in Gaza", and advocated "flattening" it. The Israeli President said tonight that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza: "It's an entire nation out there that is responsible".
8. Israel killed hundreds of civilians in a terror bombing campaign and dropped outlawed white phosphorus on the densely populated Gaza strip. Medics in Gaza say ambulances and health facilities have been targeted by IDF missiles.
9. After 6 days of bombardment, over 300 thousand people had been left homeless, and over 1,500 Palestinians dead. As of the latest reports, about 600 children have been killed.
10. Last night, Israel gave over 1 million people a days notice to evacuate half of Gaza, intending to flatten the area in a ground invasion. There is credible video evidence that Israel did not respect it's commitment to avoid bombing the main roads used for evacuation, and bombed a truck carrying dozens of civilians.
11. Tonight, Israel announced it would cut off the internet from Gaza, meaning the horrors it is about to enact on the population will be hidden from the world.
These are facts. If you state them, you will be accused of defending terrorism, or being antisemitic, but they are the facts.
When talk of collective punishment, ethnic cleansing, and outright genocide are being normalised among supposedly respected voices, we should be very skeptical of narratives being presented to us by the same people.
Mike