Bio :
Following Israel’s “Swords of Iron” massacre, Bethany Shondark Mandel openly voiced her support for the use of nuclear weapons against civilians.
As of November 28, the IDF had killed at least 14,800 Palestinians, including 5,300 children, 46 journalists, and more than 100 UNRWA aid workers, as a result of indiscriminate bombings and war crimes committed during its operation “Swords of Iron”.
Promoting the use of nuclear weapons on X to carry out a genocide in Gaza :
Regarding the Gazan people, Bethany tweeted in 2014, “Not nuking these fucking animals is the only restraint I expect and that’s only because the cloud would hurt Israelis.”
Later, following the commencement of the Israeli-led massacre in Gaza, Bethany reiterated her tweet, calling it “funny” and adding, “I’d say the tweet aged pretty fucking well tbh,” along with the statement, “I am not apologizing for the original tweet.” I apologize if my initial tweet in this thread was interpreted by some as an apology.
Background :
Israel’s massacre in Gaza, which began on October 10, 2023, has been characterized by extreme violence and claims of war crimes. In light of the overwhelming evidence that war crimes have been committed during this most recent wave of violence, the UN Human Rights Council and UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories stressed the need to hold those responsible for breaking international law and harming civilians accountable.
Israeli forces had been in the Gaza Strip for 49 days running as of November 24, 2023, which has added to the region’s growing humanitarian crisis. Since October 7, 2023, over 15,000 Palestinian civilians have lost their lives in Gaza, making the death toll quite high. In addition, as of November 23, 1.7 million civilians—or 80% of the population—were internally displaced within Gaza.
On the other hand, the official death toll in Israel is 1,200, with over 33% of the victims being active military personnel. Numerous civilian casualties were attributed to Israeli “scorched earth” tactics, which involved tanks shelling kibbutz civilian homes and helicopters firing machine gun and hellfire missiles randomly at people running through the fields.
Amnesty International looked into Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip in great detail, with a particular emphasis on events that happened between October 7 and October 12. Several alleged war crimes by the IDF were discovered during the investigation, including:
- Unpredictable Attacks on Civilian Areas: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unleashed thousands of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, with an explosive power equal to two atomic bombs, causing extensive damage. The attacks were discovered to be indiscriminate, incapable of differentiating between military and civilian targets. For example, on October 7, a three-story residential building in the al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City was struck by an IDF strike that resulted in the deaths of 15 members of the al-Dos family, including seven children. The smallest victim was only eighteen months old.
- Attacks on Residential Buildings and Family Homes: On October 10, an airstrike on Gaza City’s al-Sahaba Street demolished a family home, killing 12 members of the Hijazi family as well as four of their neighbors. There was no indication of any military targets nearby at the time of the attack, and three children were among the dead.
- Failure to Take Precautions to Spare Civilians: In many instances, the IDF failed to give Palestinian civilians adequate prior warning. There have been occasions when entire buildings or busy streets were affected by warnings that were either insufficient or nonexistent. International humanitarian law has been broken by this refusal to take reasonable safety measures to protect civilians.
- Attack on a Public Market and Refugee Camp: On October 8, an airstrike targeted the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing several al-Naqla family members, including children, and injuring a large number of others. In addition, at least 69 people were killed on October 9 when airstrikes struck a market in the Jabalia refugee camp.
- Hospital and Medical Facility Attacks: Israeli forces attacked a number of Gazan hospitals and medical facilities. For instance, the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was forced to close after air raids, the Indonesian Hospital was repeatedly hit, killing civilians, and the International Eye Hospital was totally destroyed. In addition, there were casualties after well-marked ambulances were struck.
- Devastation of Gaza’s Healthcare System: As of November 10, half of Gaza’s hospitals and two thirds of its primary healthcare facilities were closed. At least 521 people have died in 137 attacks on Gaza’s healthcare facilities, including 16 medical professionals.
- Unsubstantiated Claims of Hamas Using Hospitals: Human Rights Watch has not verified Israel’s allegations that Hamas fighters established command centers beneath hospitals. Israel’s evacuation orders were so broad that they overlooked particular hospital and patient requirements, which betrayed their true intentions.
- Blockade of the Gaza Strip: Human Rights Watch has classified Israel’s complete blockade of the Gaza Strip as a war crime involving collective punishment.
Social Media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethanyshondark
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethanysmandel/