Weekly Briefing: U.S. protection keeps Israel’s genocide alive

Israel’s destruction of Gaza grinds on without pause or limit. The army has confirmed plans to invade Gaza City and occupy it, forcing Palestinians to choose between yet another round of displacement or staying to face certain attack. In neighborhoods like Shuja’iyya — once home to 120,000 people — there is nothing left to return to.

This is not a temporary escalation or a breakdown in diplomacy. As Qassam Muaddi reports, Netanyahu’s government is openly preparing for the permanent occupation of Gaza, dangling the prospect of ceasefire talks only to stall criticism and buy time. The U.S. political establishment still treats these theatrics as if they were genuine steps toward peace. They are not; they are covering for more killing.

Even Donald Trump has been forced to acknowledge the Israeli-created famine killing thousands in Gaza. But famine here is not an accident of war; it is a weapon, wielded with intent. As Ahmad Ibsais writes, genocide depends on silencing its witnesses, and Western governments and media have not only ignored it, but they have enabled it.

The international community has failed once again to stop a genocide. By the time European governments move toward recognizing a Palestinian state next month, Gaza will have endured nearly two years of siege, bombardment, and starvation. In the West Bank, Israel is accelerating forced displacement and expanding settlement construction without meaningful pushback. It is also stepping up its campaign to silence Palestinian journalists, most recently by assassinating Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif. As Phil Weiss details, even Israel’s total ban on international reporters entering Gaza has been met with little more than a shrug from world powers.

Israel’s impunity rests on one foundation: the United States’ power over any international response. Washington uses its political, economic, and military dominance to shield Israel from consequences — vetoing resolutions, blocking sanctions, and pressuring allies to stay in line. This is not passive protection; it is active, deliberate, and relentless. The U.S. is not a bystander but a partner, fully complicit in these crimes. With that cover guaranteed, Israel can wage a war without end, making famine, displacement, and destruction permanent features of Palestinian life.

Until U.S. political protection for Israeli apartheid and the genocide in Gaza is dismantled, the rest of the world will do little more than issue belated statements and symbolic gestures. And every delay comes at the cost of more Palestinian lives.

Must read: ‘They want us homeless and hungry’: residents of Gaza City brace for Israeli invasion

Tareq Hajjaj: As the Israeli army confirms plans to invade Gaza City and occupy it, Palestinians have to decide whether to endure another cycle of displacement or stay and risk being killed. While some plan to evacuate, others are done following orders.

Genocide in Gaza

🇮🇱 Qassam Muaddi: As the Israeli army announced it was preparing plans for the occupation of Gaza City, initial reports indicate the ceasefire negotiations may resume, leaving open the question of whether Netanyahu’s occupation plan is a negotiating tactic.

📹 Ahmad Ibsais: Israel murdered Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues because genocide can only proceed without witnesses. Western media outlets have failed to condemn the systematic murder of Palestinian journalists, and in the process have become accomplices.

🍞 Qassam Muaddi: “I’m mostly tired of expecting the world to end this,” Malek texts me from his tent encampment in Khan Younis. “I need to sleep. I have to wake up early to go look for food.”

🇵🇸 Tareq Hajjaj: The neighborhood of Shuja’iyya was once home to 120,000 people. It has now been erased.

Catch-up

⛔ Phil Weiss: Israel’s policy of blocking international reporters from entering Gaza is cruel and aims to prevent the world from learning about the unfolding genocide. Tragically, the mainstream press has rarely mentioned the restriction, let alone condemned it.

🇺🇸 Michael Arria: The Center for Constitutional Rights is joining local organizations in calling on Delaware’s Attorney General to investigate the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for its complicity in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza.

🇮🇱 Daphna Baram and Michael Sfard: Two human rights practitioners used to have hope that Israel could be reformed, but no longer. “Today it is one solid mass of distilled evil,” writes human rights lawyer Michael Sfard.

✝️ Shannon Smythe: More Presbyterians and other Christians must bravely speak truth to power with our voices and bodies to end the Gaza genocide. This begins with challenging Christian Zionism and the leaders of our churches who remain complicit.

❓ Michael Arria: After a New York Magazine article exposed a crisis within the Anti-Defamation League, CEO Jonathan Greenblatt is finally being asked tough questions about the organization’s attacks on Palestine activists and its embrace of Israel.

🫏 James Ray: As support for Israel drops in polls, Democrats are increasingly trying to distance themselves from the Gaza genocide. A common tactic is to place the blame on “the Netanyahu government,” but this ignores Israel’s long history of ethnic cleansing.