The Israeli defense minister is simply following Trump’s position and reiterating what everyone who isn’t a blinkered partisan hack knew Trump was saying two weeks ago, says Caitlin Johnstone.
Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):
By Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin’s Newsletter
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has published an explicit statement of genocidal intent toward the people of Gaza, threatening civilians in the enclave with collective punishment in the form of “total devastation” if they do not find a way to overthrow Hamas and free all Israeli hostages.
Katz’s statement reads as follows:
“Residents of Gaza, this is your final warning. The first Sinwar destroyed Gaza, and the second Sinwar will bring upon it total ruin. The Israeli Air Force’s attack against Hamas terrorists was only the first step. What follows will be far harsher, and you will bear the full cost.
Evacuation of the population from combat zones will soon resume. If all Israeli hostages are not released and Hamas is not kicked out of Gaza, Israel will act with force you have not known before.
Take the advice of the U.S. President: return the hostages and kick out Hamas, and new options will open up for you — including relocation to other parts of the world for those who choose. The alternative is destruction and total devastation.”
When Katz says, “Take the advice of the U.S. president,” he is referring to a statement made by President Donald Trump earlier this month which made essentially the same threat addressed “to the People of Gaza,” saying, “A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”
When I criticized the U.S. president for these remarks which explicitly threaten Gaza’s civilians, I got a deluge of Trump supporters telling me he wasn’t really talking about “the people of Gaza” as he said, but was rather speaking only about the ones who are actively holding hostages.
Katz’s statement makes it abundantly clear that they were wrong, and that those of us who called a spade a spade at the time were correct.
The ruins of Gaza after the Israeli airstrikes campaign, Feb. 10, 2025. (Jaber Jehad Badwan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Israeli defense minister is simply following Trump’s position and reiterating what everyone who isn’t a blinkered partisan hack knew Trump was saying two weeks ago. He is doing this in exactly the same way Benjamin Netanyahu followed Trump’s position on ethnically cleansing Gaza last month by enthusiastically endorsing the plan Trump put forward to permanently remove all Palestinians from the enclave. Trump puts forward the plan, and Israeli officials put it into action.
So you’ve got both the U.S. and Israeli governments openly threatening the entire population of the Gaza strip with the war crime of collective punishment if they don’t somehow kick Hamas out of Gaza, and additionally announcing the intent to inflict “total devastation” upon that population if they do not.
This is about as explicit an admission of genocidal intent as you can possibly come up with.
In its genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, South African prosecutors compiled a mountain of evidence of Israeli officials announcing the intent to commit genocide in Gaza, such as Netanyahu describing Gaza’s population as “Amalek” in reference to a Bible story about a people who were completely annihilated on the orders of God, or former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant describing Palestinians in Gaza as “human animals” while declaring a “total siege” on the enclave.
Al Jazeera’s Raz Segal and Penny Green wrote the following regarding the ICJ case last year:
“The crime of genocide has two elements — intention and execution — both of which have to be proven when accusations are made… Intention is usually harder to prove when accusations of genocide are made; the petitioner has to be able to prove “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such,” in the language of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. But in Israel’s case, intention too has been laid bare by an ample amount of evidence — as the South African legal team pointed out.”
And Katz’s statement is probably the most clear and explicit admission yet. It’s hard to imagine a clearer declaration of genocidal intent than delivering a video statement addressed to a civilian population threatening them with “total devastation” if they don’t do as they’re told.
We may be sure that these statements by Katz and Trump have been added to files held by those who hope to successfully prosecute these monsters for war crimes one day. We may also be sure that they will be recorded in what will eventually be seen as one of the darker chapters in our civilization’s history.
Caitlin Johnstone’s work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, following her on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, YouTube, or throwing some money into her tip jar on Ko-fi, Patreon or Paypal. If you want to read more you can buy her books. The best way to make sure you see the stuff she publishes is to subscribe to the mailing list at her website or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything she publishes. For more info on who she is, where she stands and what she’s trying to do with her platform, click here. All works are co-authored with her American husband Tim Foley.
This article is from CaitlinJohnstone.com.au and re-published with permission.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
Over 50,000 non-military (some estimates strongly suggest the numbers of dead and injured are far higher), innocent Palestinians have been killed while hundreds of thousands have been injured, and the world essentially watches in silence, as the criminality continues. International law has effectively been neutered and/or made null and void.
The state of world affairs may not have ever devolved to such a sad, degraded situation, where self-professed “Christians” actually believe they are hearing ultimate spiritual truth: Benjamin Netanyahu describing Gaza’s population as “Amalek” in reference to a Bible story about a people who were completely annihilated … on no less than the direct orders of God.
We may be sure that these statements by Katz and Trump have been added to files held by those who hope to successfully prosecute these monsters for war crimes one day. We may also be sure that they will be recorded in what will eventually be seen as one of the darker chapters in our civilization’s history.
***
For the sake of accuracy, one would hope Ms. Johnstone edits her article to read, “…eventually be seen as one of the darkEST chapters in our civilization’s history.”
The perplexing absence of strong response/refutation(s) from self-professed Christians in America regarding “Netanyahu describing Gaza’s population as ‘Amalek’ in reference to a Bible story about a people who were completely annihilated on the orders of God” suggests the current chapter of world history is indeed the darkest ever witnessed – where “orders of God” necessitate, for some, the annihilation (premeditated mass murder) of innocents.
The commandment “Thou shalt kill” originated from another spiritual space, altogether different.
It is like our god says we have more use for the land than the Native Americans do. The European immigrants need room to expand for use to profit using them to draw fire and us to ride in and save them and there is gold all over the hills begging to be freed..
Actually that should say allegedly, or supposedly, on the orders of God. This is in I Samuel 15:2-3, which reads:
That is a glaring and obvious example of what is wrong with regarding any so-called “holy” book, such as the Bible or the Koran, as being an infallible and inerrant revelation from God, and anything said in such a book as absolute truth and not to be questioned.
I now consider myself to be a Deist. I used to be a Christian, and am glad to not be one any more. (I detail this in my write-up linked to by my screen handle.) I would hate to have to defend, or “explain”, passages such as the above.
Here are a few excerpts from a letter written by the American revolutionary writer Thomas Paine, who was a Deist, to a Christian friend in which he gives very good reasons for not believing the Bible to be the “Word of God”. He refers to the passage in I Samuel in which God allegedly commands the Israelites to smite and destroy Amalek, which was invoked by Netanyahu in calling for Israel to do the same to Hamas and the Palestinians.
hxxps://www.deism.com/post/a-letter-to-a-christian-friend-regarding-the-age-of-reason
Thomas Paine notes in the above letter that belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man (or cruel woman, or cruel person). Christian fundamentalists, for instance, believe in a cruel God who condemns to hell for all eternity all those who, for whatever reason, do not come to “accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior” in this present lifetime. And the Zionist Christians believe that the Jews returning to their ancient homeland in Israel is part of God’s plan for the “End Times”, which we are supposedly living in, and which heralds the soon return of Jesus Christ. Opposing or not standing with Israel is thus tantamount to standing in the way of God’s plan. Believing in the cruel God they believe in, it makes sense that they would be callous and completely indifferent to the sufferings of the Palestinians who have been and are being displaced by the Israeli settlers, and who are regarded as being mere pawns in the plan that God is working out for Israel, and for the “End Times”.
At this point I have to believe anything that comes from any Israeli official already involved with this slaughter of innocents , extermination, genocide, what ever, it must be recognized for what it is.
This event is all that words can describe in reference to the wanton killing Israel is involved in. What makes it worse is I’m convinced the intent here by Israel is to apply constant pressure to Palestinian Allies. A psyops operation to push one of or more than one to act against Israel.
These two guys got one thing on their minds. Iran. They want Iran to act against them so they can be eliminated also. They do not care!
IN truth it makes the murderous sacrifice of the Gazan innocents even more appalling and shameful.
I wish very much it was more difficult to understand no reasonable person would continue on this path. It is not and the reason is because the United States has failed to learn anything about world peace for the last sixty years. Now our right wing Zionist leadership has lost all self control in the quest for more power in some misguided attempt to kill every one else on the planet.
Time has come for we the people do something about this. IMHO! I’m not sure it’s in time but I see things happening, problem is it early in that process and late in the developing shit storm America has coming very soon.
Katz is no different from any of the rest of them and has failed to realize we see through their BS. They get on TV and project on the other their threats of violence purposely stirring the shit.
The U.S. must see the true nature of what it voluntarily involved itself in. Then tell Israel enough is enough, but with tramp it is not going to happen. Just the same with taxing AIPAC and kicking their lobby out of congress.
So much for the experiment which is money is the same a speech! The BS needs to stop all around this daily chain.
We know don’t we Caitlin!
I believe Trump and Defense Minister Israel Katz intuit that Hamas is simply the political focus of the Palestinian people’s will to oppose occupation and depredations on their population. ie, Hamas is Gaza. Blaming Hamas is merely a propaganda subterfuge to convince the world that they do not willfully commit the crime of genocide (Katz) or ethnic cleansing (Trump)/
That a large majority of American citizens and almost 100% of our political leaders have fallen in step with Israel’s mass murder of the Palestinian people,…. is proof that a propaganda blanket has smothered our senses since 1948. We (the non-Jews) are their “goyim”are being herded to the slaughter of our morals. Is it ironic that a culture that was confronted by a Nazi policy of mass extermination has now become the world’s foremost proponent of that same policy to serve their own purpose? Personally, I no longer think that “ironic” is the correct term to describe why historical patterns repeat. There are clear concrete reasons why cultures act out of mass fear.
What can we do to correct our course?…. to throw off this blanket of misinformation? Each of us need to think for ourselves. We have the moral strength within us…but we need to resurrect it….each in our own communion. As Easter is upon us, we might reflect on the actions of Jesus….and the price he paid when confronted by the ancestors of the Zionists under the protection of Rome (America).
In for a penny, in for a pound. Israel her leaders and population are already soaked in innocent t blood. There is no redemption for them. No wonder many Israelis are quitting Israel. They are truly horrified of what they have become associated with. They can only run and hide. There will be no hiding place from the Almighty’s retribution. Those who are going along with Netanyahu’s twisted logic, have been duped. Propagandised. with lies and half truths. The same it can be said of western leadership, which tolerates Israel’s genocide. Our leaders need to watch their step, they may be called to the court of International Justice one day, to answer accusations of ‘Assisting genocide’!
When you can be eagerly arrested for your opinion under laws designed to combat terrorism and ludicrously labelled an anti-semite for demanding an end to the practice of ethnically cleansing Semites.
Monsters indeed.
Thank You So Very Much Mrs. Johnstone, for your inspiring and unflinching dedication to humanity.
Trump’s not necessarily the one putting forth these genocidal plans. He’s taking orders from Miriam A. and other billionaire bloodsucking Zionist psychopaths. Trump’s not unhappy to do it, along with his entire rabidly pro-Israel staff, as they know exactly who butters their bread.
Unfortunately this ugly chapter we’re witnessing today will be downplayed in future history books and texts on geopolitics, it’ll be given short shrift and whitewashed. School children won’t know much about it, especially not to the degree that they know very specific details about the Jewish holocaust that’s drilled into their heads from kindergarten through graduate school.
There will be no prosecutions of any consequence for the monstrous officials who have murdered hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians. Are Wolfowitz, Feith, junior Bush, Perle, Rumsfeld, Rice and Cheney imprisoned today for what they did in 2003?
I very much agree with you except for one quibble – there won’t be any future history books. The past will be rewritten, cherry picked for great moments in American history (the Reagan years, for example), and Trump will designate a Department of History (under the Executive Office, of course) to write the fiction and insert the phantasms (think RFK, Jr., as one) that will then be decreed as history.
As to where war criminals Wolfowitz, Feith, Dumbya, Perle, Rumsfeld, Rice, Cheney, and others are, you might be interested in this: hxxps://truthout.org/articles/war-architects-enjoy-top-academic-gigs-22-years-after-illegal-invasion-of-iraq/, while professors targeted by Hasbara campaigns have been dismissed to make room. See if you can hold down your lunch.
It pains me to think that no prosecution for war crimes, crimes against the Palestinian people, will happen to Trump and Netanyahu and his cabinet. It pains me to think that the Palestinian people will be driven off Gaza and/or killed off, and this will also include the West Bank. It pains me to think that both the people of the USA and the people of Western Europe don’t give a damn, except for the small number of insignificant who oppose Trump and Israel in there genocidal actions against the Palestinian people. It pains me to think we live in a truly evil world, primarily in the west. I’ve grown to believe that the west does not believe in human rights, and the rights of the child.
History is written by the winners.
War Crime trials are conducted by the winners.
Israel is losing.
No, these trials will not be conducted by the people of the USA and Western Europe …. they are losing too.
Interesting you should mention the international rights of the child. It prompted me to research the Convention of the Rights of the Child. Israel has both signed (1990) and ratified the Convention (1991). An exemplary job they’re doing in abiding by it. Of further note, the United States has only signed it (1995) but has not ratified it. With us it’s a matter of policy not to recognize international law or standards.