The terrorist group is using 1.5 million human shields in Rafah
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has found himself, once again, at odds with Israel’s war effort, calling on Wednesday for the Israeli military to nix plans to mount an attack on Rafah. But while Trudeau may have, in his own mind, been taking a principled humanitarian stand, his words played right into the hands of Hamas, whose clear endgame has always been to pack as many Gazans as possible into the city for use as human shields.
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In a joint statement cosigned by the leaders of Australia and New Zealand, Trudeau said he was “gravely concerned” about the rumoured Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, claiming that such an operation would be “catastrophic” for the roughly 1.5 million Palestinians taking refuge in and around Gaza’s southernmost city.
“There is growing international consensus. Israel must listen to its friends and it must listen to the international community,” read the statement, which heavily implied that an Israeli attack on Rafah would violate international law.
This marks the second time that the trio of anglosphere leaders have publicly given Israel a cold shoulder at a critical juncture of its now four-month-long war with Hamas. In December, the three prime ministers released a similar joint communiqué calling for a “sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza, telegraphing their intention to side against Israel at a then-imminent UN General Assembly vote.
The fallout from the first joint statement was swift and humiliating for all involved. A week later, a senior Hamas official appeared in a video message thanking the three countries for backing the push for a ceasefire in Gaza. The unwelcome expression of gratitude left Canada’s foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly scrambling to do damage control, insisting Hamas had “no future in Gaza” in an after-hours tweet.
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Not even two months removed from having to wipe egg off their faces, the three world leaders now, bafflingly, find themselves running a second round of interference for Hamas.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice …
A “death cult” in every sense of the term, Hamas’ M.O. has long been to sacrifice as many Palestinian civilians as possible, preferably women and children, to the Israeli “war machine” and then use the resulting collateral damage to build up global sympathy for their cause. This has, in practice, meant using vulnerable civilians as human shields, routinely embedding military installations and personnel in schools, hospitals and other humanitarian infrastructure. Hamas has, by all indications, continued this practice throughout its ongoing conflict with Israel.
Hamas’ designs on pushing a critical mass of Gazans into Rafah in preparation for a final showdown with the IDF, which are consistent with this overarching philosophy of sacrificing civilian “martyrs” for the greater good, have been apparent for weeks now.
In a yet-to-be-released appearance on Postmedia’s Full Comment podcast, Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy explained that complicit foreign aid agencies have been funnelling civilians into Rafah, Hamas’ lone remaining stronghold in Gaza, for use as human shields.
“Ask yourself why are 1.5-million Gazans reportedly now in Rafah instead of the safe zone we designated at the start of the war,” Levy said to host Brian Lilley, referring to the nearby coastal strip Muwasi. (Israel named Muwasi a safe haven for internally displaced Gazans in December, but UNRWA and other Palestinian aid organizations do not recognize the camp and are not providing services there.)
Levy also revealed that four of Hamas’ six remaining battalions are currently stationed in Rafah.
Justin Trudeau, who hasn’t hesitated to play armchair quarterback throughout Israel’s war in Gaza (despite not stepping foot on Israeli soil himself since Oct. 7), is now actively helping Hamas mount its last-stand defence against an IDF that sits on the one-yard line.
While Hamas’ strategy of hiding behind as many Palestinian civilians as possible is clear as day, it’s hard to see what Trudeau hopes to get from once again lining up behind the critically wounded terrorist organization.
Other than perhaps a second message of gratitude from a senior Hamas official.
National Post
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