'Massacres and destruction': Palestinian rep. asks if Gaza war entitles them to genocide Israelis

A Palestinian delegation to the United Nations denied that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza was self-defense, instead claiming that the Jewish state was “massacring children, women and men,” according to footage published by the delegation’s X account on Saturday.

“There is so justification, whatsoever, for genocide,” the delegate said. “Not October 7th. Not claims of antisemitism. Not allegations of terrorism. Nothing.”

“If Israel believes that it is justified in committing genocide in retribution for October 7th, then we must ask: What do the thousands of October 7ths that the Palestinians have suffered in this past year, the largest attack on the Palestinian people since the onset of the… pic.twitter.com/ZsixQCmiQm

— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) November 23, 2024

October 7 and the war that followed

On October 7, Hamas broke an existing ceasefire, invaded southern Israel, and murdered some 1200 people - including a number of foreign nationals. During its attacks, where terrorists used sexual violence and acts of torture, Hamas abducted some 250 people - over 100 of whom remain in Hamas captivity.

After the attack, Israel launched operations in Gaza with the goal of ending Hamas’s reign over the enclave and returning those abducted during the attack. Hamas-run health authorities have claimed that over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, however the figure fails to distinguish between civilian deaths and combatant ones. 

Advocates for Israel have noted that Israel’s combatant to civilian shows that the IDF has taken significant care in ensuring that Gazans are not caught in the crosshairs. Hamas’s use of human shields and civilian infrastructure has also intentionally risked civilian lives.

Questions of revenge

“Genocide cannot be repackaged and legitimized as self-defense,” the delegate continued, failing to disclose alternative actions for Israel to undertake to ensure the same return of the hostages and the cessation of Hamas’s attacks.

“If Israel believes it is justified in committing genocide in retribution for October 7th, then we must also ask: What do the thousands of October 7ths that Palestinians have suffered in this past year, or for that matter, the thousands more October 7ths suffered in the past 57 years before or the 76 years before…entitle us to do?

“If we are to determine the answer to this by Israel’s measure, only revenge, and retribution, massacres and destruction. Only never-ending rivers of bloodshed."