I will deal with some of the claims made in the article as I felt that they were significant issues within it.
The argument that the Gazan health ministry has been “conveying false information” is tenuous at best. Firstly, the numbers coming out the UN doesn’t mean the casualties didn’t occur but rather that they didn’t have the positive identification for those victims yet. The same Gaza health ministry you insinuate for conveying false information has previously had numbers which concurred with estimates coming from independent NGO’s as well as Israeli’s internal estimates. This is ignoring the fact that even the State Department has deemed the numbers reliable, in fact when President Biden placed doubt on the numbers earlier on in the conflict, the ministry released a detailed list of casualties with ID numbers and other biographical information as proof of their numbers.
On a sidenote your assertion that Hamas are “are a bunch of lying, evil pieces of shit who have no regard for truth or human life” is more of an emotional argument and it is particularly intriguing that you don’t subject Israel to the same critique given their lies during the conflict and before then.
Take as an example the AL-Ahli hospital which you mentioned as an example of Hamas lies, you neglected to mention that the evidence that Israel gave attributing the attack to PIJ was later debunked as not corresponding to the known facts of what happened or the fact that initially some within Israel claimed responsibility. The attack followed the same pattern as the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh a Palestinian-American journalist who Israel initially claimed had been murdered by militants but changed its story after some backlash and evidence to the contrary till it ultimately claimed that the IDF might have been responsible for her death and promised an investigation (which is still pending).
Another claim you make which in my opinion is all the more puzzling is that Israel has done all it can to prevent civilian deaths when we see how Israel has been using dumb bombs instead of precision bombs during its attacks (one member of the Knesset recently even threatened to intensify this due to Biden temporarily withholding large payload bombs to Israel) as well as two separate investigative articles published by 972 magazine which revealed the extent to which AI had been used as part of Israel’s bombing campaign and illustrated how Israel purposefully targeted militants when they were at home for maximum damage (‘where’s daddy’). The reports also showed how Israel would target an area populated with civilians knowingly despite either the lack of military targets or a widely disproportionate militant to civilian ratio. This is to say nothing of the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the fact that Israeli soldiers were on the record stating that they are “no innocents” in Gaza.
Another claim you make is the debunked “Human Shields” argument or the claim that Hamas is one that has been refuted prior to October 7th and since, in fact there has been several documented cases (including one video shot by a captured Israeli drone) of Israeli using Palestinian civilians as human shields.
Your assertion that Hamas is some sort of death cult which preys on western sensibilities is quite frankly detached from reality, they are not the first to make use of the term martyr and don’t go out of their way to kill their people to gain said martyrs. The supposed military base argument is one that Israel has yet to substantiate to this day and even the BBC had to point out some inconsistencies with Israeli claims.
On the topic of al-Shifa there has been the discovery of more than one mass grave there in the aftermath of the Israeli incursion there with evidence suggesting people were executed on the spot, Israel as also destroyed other hospitals in Gaza without providing a smidge of proof that there was any militant activity there.
To conclude, I find it quite disheartening that a substack such as yours which seeks prioritise data over dogma has ended up producing an article stuffed full of debunked claims, emotional and substantiated arguments (of the variety you would readily call out gender idealogues for) and an overlooking of an overwhelming amount of data and research which belie your claim all pint to your prioritisation over pro-Israeli dogma instead of a carefully researched commentary on the facts.
Most of this is misleading or false. If you take a look at statistical analyses of the reported fatalities, they are (within high confidence) entirely fabricated and don't show the variability that would naturally be expected. Many deeper dives statistically, but the one below is a starting place if you are interested in a more foundational analysis.
The remainder of your points are just-so tales and one off stories. For example, your perspective on civilian casualties is ahistorical, lacking context, and incorrectly accounts for the complexity of deep urban combat (a better comparison is e.g. Mosul). But even in cases like that, there was no dedicated effort to place leadership HQ underground beneath hospitals, schools, etc.
To not see Hamas as a death cult speaks of a stunning naiveté that certainly colors the remainder of your analyses. But I speak just to the numbers above, not the philosophy. You may be curious why the surrounding Arab nations are not eagerly intervening here in good faith to absorb the Palestinian population. There is a reason. Many reasons. Good luck with that.
I'll start with your last assertion as to why Arab states are supposedly not absorbing Palestinians as you say. That is just not true as historically these states have been where most Palestinian refugees fled to, their reasoning for not absorbing more Palestinians is they don't want to be party to ethnic cleansing, with all due respect your argument is reminiscent of the Nazis asking why no one wanted to take in the Jews. As the occupying force Israel also has the responsibility to ensure the protection of the people it occupies so it can't just pass the bill
With respect to the article on Tablet Magazine, I suggest you read a response to Mr. Wyner's published on Kylteri which outlines- in meticulous detail-some major flaws within the argument he sets forth and his overall analysis.
You still fail to substantiate how despite all these claims of leadership HQ's underneath hospitals Israel has provided no credible proof, which is especially remarkable given that Israel possesses some of the most advanced surveillance technology in the world.
Your claim that my points are just-so tales and one-off stories fail to deal with the reality that incidents such as Israel's indiscriminate bombing, use of human shields and other human right violations were flagged in earlier conflicts as well by organizations such as the UN.
I find it curious how the supposed death cult has called for an independent investigation into what happened on October 7th (which Israel refuses), a ceasefire with the release of hostages (which Israel has backed out of repeatedly) and even a two-state solution on the pre-1967 borders.
I find it intriguing how flippantly you dismiss my arguments and quite frankly I find your rudimentary depictions of Palestinians and overall disregard with which you hold them to be morally reprehensible.
I wish you all the best and hope that one day you're able to rediscover the piece of humanity you appear to have lost along the way.
Your use of ad hominems really eliminates the possibility for constructive dialogue. Being too online really isn't good for the soul, speaking of humanity. I could go back and forth with you as to why you're not absorbing crucial points, and you would likely do the same. Many lines of unicode later, perhaps neither of us is very persuaded, and yet the battle continues onward...
Despite your calumny, I read broadly and have friends who have lived in all the areas involved, and in many surrounding regions. There is no univocal moral "truth", so if you're questing for that, good luck. Western value systems don't apply here, and the history is more complex than substack will allow. I'm speaking solely to the numerical aberrations, and realities of a type of war with no precedent. If that makes you angry, then that's something to reflect on.
Thank you, yes, it's the casualness with which the lies are told and the alacrity with which they're propagated that is so concerning to me. All of this enhanced by the fact that so few are capable (or willing) to critically analyze information. It requires no intellectual energy to just chant a slogan and a number. But slogans are a poor substitute for thought, and seldom lead anywhere worth going as our multifaceted, nuanced world is never appropriately solved by applying the "wisdom" of slogans at scale.
A few thoughts
I will deal with some of the claims made in the article as I felt that they were significant issues within it.
The argument that the Gazan health ministry has been “conveying false information” is tenuous at best. Firstly, the numbers coming out the UN doesn’t mean the casualties didn’t occur but rather that they didn’t have the positive identification for those victims yet. The same Gaza health ministry you insinuate for conveying false information has previously had numbers which concurred with estimates coming from independent NGO’s as well as Israeli’s internal estimates. This is ignoring the fact that even the State Department has deemed the numbers reliable, in fact when President Biden placed doubt on the numbers earlier on in the conflict, the ministry released a detailed list of casualties with ID numbers and other biographical information as proof of their numbers.
On a sidenote your assertion that Hamas are “are a bunch of lying, evil pieces of shit who have no regard for truth or human life” is more of an emotional argument and it is particularly intriguing that you don’t subject Israel to the same critique given their lies during the conflict and before then.
Take as an example the AL-Ahli hospital which you mentioned as an example of Hamas lies, you neglected to mention that the evidence that Israel gave attributing the attack to PIJ was later debunked as not corresponding to the known facts of what happened or the fact that initially some within Israel claimed responsibility. The attack followed the same pattern as the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh a Palestinian-American journalist who Israel initially claimed had been murdered by militants but changed its story after some backlash and evidence to the contrary till it ultimately claimed that the IDF might have been responsible for her death and promised an investigation (which is still pending).
Another claim you make which in my opinion is all the more puzzling is that Israel has done all it can to prevent civilian deaths when we see how Israel has been using dumb bombs instead of precision bombs during its attacks (one member of the Knesset recently even threatened to intensify this due to Biden temporarily withholding large payload bombs to Israel) as well as two separate investigative articles published by 972 magazine which revealed the extent to which AI had been used as part of Israel’s bombing campaign and illustrated how Israel purposefully targeted militants when they were at home for maximum damage (‘where’s daddy’). The reports also showed how Israel would target an area populated with civilians knowingly despite either the lack of military targets or a widely disproportionate militant to civilian ratio. This is to say nothing of the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the fact that Israeli soldiers were on the record stating that they are “no innocents” in Gaza.
Another claim you make is the debunked “Human Shields” argument or the claim that Hamas is one that has been refuted prior to October 7th and since, in fact there has been several documented cases (including one video shot by a captured Israeli drone) of Israeli using Palestinian civilians as human shields.
Your assertion that Hamas is some sort of death cult which preys on western sensibilities is quite frankly detached from reality, they are not the first to make use of the term martyr and don’t go out of their way to kill their people to gain said martyrs. The supposed military base argument is one that Israel has yet to substantiate to this day and even the BBC had to point out some inconsistencies with Israeli claims.
On the topic of al-Shifa there has been the discovery of more than one mass grave there in the aftermath of the Israeli incursion there with evidence suggesting people were executed on the spot, Israel as also destroyed other hospitals in Gaza without providing a smidge of proof that there was any militant activity there.
To conclude, I find it quite disheartening that a substack such as yours which seeks prioritise data over dogma has ended up producing an article stuffed full of debunked claims, emotional and substantiated arguments (of the variety you would readily call out gender idealogues for) and an overlooking of an overwhelming amount of data and research which belie your claim all pint to your prioritisation over pro-Israeli dogma instead of a carefully researched commentary on the facts.
Most of this is misleading or false. If you take a look at statistical analyses of the reported fatalities, they are (within high confidence) entirely fabricated and don't show the variability that would naturally be expected. Many deeper dives statistically, but the one below is a starting place if you are interested in a more foundational analysis.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/how-gaza-health-ministry-fakes-casualty-numbers?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
The remainder of your points are just-so tales and one off stories. For example, your perspective on civilian casualties is ahistorical, lacking context, and incorrectly accounts for the complexity of deep urban combat (a better comparison is e.g. Mosul). But even in cases like that, there was no dedicated effort to place leadership HQ underground beneath hospitals, schools, etc.
To not see Hamas as a death cult speaks of a stunning naiveté that certainly colors the remainder of your analyses. But I speak just to the numbers above, not the philosophy. You may be curious why the surrounding Arab nations are not eagerly intervening here in good faith to absorb the Palestinian population. There is a reason. Many reasons. Good luck with that.
A few thoughts once again
I'll start with your last assertion as to why Arab states are supposedly not absorbing Palestinians as you say. That is just not true as historically these states have been where most Palestinian refugees fled to, their reasoning for not absorbing more Palestinians is they don't want to be party to ethnic cleansing, with all due respect your argument is reminiscent of the Nazis asking why no one wanted to take in the Jews. As the occupying force Israel also has the responsibility to ensure the protection of the people it occupies so it can't just pass the bill
With respect to the article on Tablet Magazine, I suggest you read a response to Mr. Wyner's published on Kylteri which outlines- in meticulous detail-some major flaws within the argument he sets forth and his overall analysis.
This is the link to the article:
https://www.kylteri.fi/en/artikkelit/disinformation-and-statistics-the-case-of-professor-abraham-j-wyner
In a response to John Spencer's claims about the civilian casualties being more favourable to lets say Mosul (as you mentioned) Matt Delventhal has a good write up on why that claim doesn't hold up to scrutiny (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/newsweek-wrong-idfs-killing-gaza-civilians-compares-other-delventhal-z9q0c/)
You still fail to substantiate how despite all these claims of leadership HQ's underneath hospitals Israel has provided no credible proof, which is especially remarkable given that Israel possesses some of the most advanced surveillance technology in the world.
Your claim that my points are just-so tales and one-off stories fail to deal with the reality that incidents such as Israel's indiscriminate bombing, use of human shields and other human right violations were flagged in earlier conflicts as well by organizations such as the UN.
I find it curious how the supposed death cult has called for an independent investigation into what happened on October 7th (which Israel refuses), a ceasefire with the release of hostages (which Israel has backed out of repeatedly) and even a two-state solution on the pre-1967 borders.
I find it intriguing how flippantly you dismiss my arguments and quite frankly I find your rudimentary depictions of Palestinians and overall disregard with which you hold them to be morally reprehensible.
I wish you all the best and hope that one day you're able to rediscover the piece of humanity you appear to have lost along the way.
Your use of ad hominems really eliminates the possibility for constructive dialogue. Being too online really isn't good for the soul, speaking of humanity. I could go back and forth with you as to why you're not absorbing crucial points, and you would likely do the same. Many lines of unicode later, perhaps neither of us is very persuaded, and yet the battle continues onward...
Despite your calumny, I read broadly and have friends who have lived in all the areas involved, and in many surrounding regions. There is no univocal moral "truth", so if you're questing for that, good luck. Western value systems don't apply here, and the history is more complex than substack will allow. I'm speaking solely to the numerical aberrations, and realities of a type of war with no precedent. If that makes you angry, then that's something to reflect on.
my email is:
elias98_99@yahoo.com
Kiyah, can we communicate? I wish to showcase your stack and promote, I get after shares about 1.5 million looks a day.
excellent Kiyah, love your advocacy and standing up....for Israel. You are well informed.
Kiyah, can you contact me...??
Thank you, yes, it's the casualness with which the lies are told and the alacrity with which they're propagated that is so concerning to me. All of this enhanced by the fact that so few are capable (or willing) to critically analyze information. It requires no intellectual energy to just chant a slogan and a number. But slogans are a poor substitute for thought, and seldom lead anywhere worth going as our multifaceted, nuanced world is never appropriately solved by applying the "wisdom" of slogans at scale.