As Gaza starves, Netanyahu’s govt faces genocide accusations
Special Report :
In a seismic development, two of Israel’s most respected human rights organizations have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing genocide in Gaza, while U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly condemned the humanitarian catastrophe as “real starvation,” signaling a deepening international rift with Israel’s leadership.
These criticisms come as growing evidence suggests that Netanyahu is sustaining the war not for national defense, but as a strategy to preserve his increasingly fragile hold on power.
While the Netanyahu government faces mounting scrutiny, protests within Israel continue to demonstrate that it is not the Israeli people but their government driving the prolonged conflict.
In a groundbreaking report titled “Our Genocide”, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel argued that Israeli military operations in Gaza amount to genocide under international law. Their findings cite:
# Tens of thousands of Palestinians killed;
# Near-total destruction of neighborhoods;
# Displacement of almost all of Gaza’s two million residents;
# Severe restrictions on food, medicine, and basic aid.
The report states that these actions represent “coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip.”
It further cites explicit dehumanizing rhetoric by Israeli officials, including statements by former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calling Palestinians “human animals.”
Yuli Novak, Director of B’Tselem, remarked: “This is a report we never imagined we would have to write… but the reality left us no choice.”
Israel has rejected the accusations as “baseless,” maintaining that its campaign targets Hamas militants and not civilians.
Officials cite the facilitation of humanitarian aid as evidence of compliance with international law. Breaking with traditional U.S. rhetoric, President Donald Trump delivered one of his most direct rebukes of Israeli policy to date.
Speaking in Turnberry, Scotland alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump questioned Netanyahu’s claim that there is no famine in Gaza.
“Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry… That’s real starvation. I see it. You can’t fake that.”
Trump pledged to establish U.S.-led food centers in Gaza, in collaboration with Europe, with no fences or restricted access, and promised to tell Netanyahu:
“I want him to make sure they get the food-every ounce of food.”
Though he blamed Hamas for stealing some aid, Trump emphasized that Israel must do more, and hinted at changing military strategies to prioritize humanitarian outcomes.
Despite the Israeli government’s wartime rhetoric, the Israeli public is far from united behind Netanyahu’s policies. Protest movements across Israel have grown, many led by families of hostages taken by Hamas. These groups are demanding a ceasefire and accusing Netanyahu of sacrificing hostages and soldiers for political gain.
o A majority of Israelis now believe Netanyahu is prolonging the conflict to protect his own position, according to reporting by Al Jazeera and other sources.
# Opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned the government’s strategy, calling it a “strategic failure” and warning that continued war could bring economic sanctions and international arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
“Only the Netanyahu government refuses to discuss how the war will end,” Lapid stated. “It has no plan, no vision.”A growing body of analysis suggests that Netanyahu has transformed war into a political survival mechanism:
# The Arab Center in Washington argues Netanyahu is leveraging the war to delay legal proceedings and suppress dissent.
# The Guardian reports that Netanyahu has blocked ceasefire and hostage deals, overruling even his own military advisers to keep the conflict alive.
# The Financial Times calls the war a “strategic stalemate” sustained for political optics rather than military necessity.
In June 2025, Netanyahu launched an airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities-without full cabinet or international coordination-which briefly boosted his standing. Haaretz and Le Monde reported that the strike was likely aimed more at rallying nationalist support than altering the strategic balance.
After narrowly passing a state budget earlier this year, Netanyahu solidified his grip on a fragile far-right coalition-but only by intensifying war rhetoric and restarting military escalations in Gaza.