Despite international criticism over the Gaza war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day that Israel must defend itself – if necessary all alone. “During the terrible Holocaust, there were important leaders who stood aside. The first lesson from the Holocaust is therefore: if we do not defend ourselves, no one else will defend us,” he said on Sunday.
The occasion was the Holocaust Remembrance Day coming up on Monday. “And if we have to stand on our own, then we will stand on our own.”
Israel has been waging war against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 7th last year. The trigger was the unprecedented massacre with more than 1,200 deaths that terrorists from Hamas and other groups carried out in Israel. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. Given the high number of civilian casualties and the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel has come under international criticism.
Israel’s harsh warfare has recently caused a certain alienation even among its closest ally, the USA. US President Joe Biden regularly calls for more aid deliveries for the suffering population in the Gaza Strip. He urgently warns the Israeli head of government not to send the military to the southern city of Rafah before the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people crowded there have been brought to safety.