Australia/Israel Review

The Jewish people emerged from slavery into freedom. The biblical verse from Exodus “Let my people go” became a universal call long ago, one that inspired the African-American struggle in the United States for freedom, liberty and equality. It remains one of the Jewish people’s most powerful messages to humanity.

But humanity has disappointed. It seems that today, even among the so-called enlightened – the champions of “progressive values” – free thought is being trampled. Truth has become optional. Agendas reign supreme.

Just how wide is the gap between facts and agendas? Consider this: Hamas’ Health Ministry recently published its list of casualties up to the most recent ceasefire – over 50,000 names. Setting aside the fact that at least five research-based publications have contradicted these figures, let us – for argument’s sake – accept Hamas’ data, which serve as the main basis for the frequently voiced accusation of “genocide” against Israel.

Is it genocide? In previous conflicts, I used Hamas’ own figures to compare the age distribution of the general population in Gaza to the age distribution of the dead. The results were unequivocal: the vast majority of casualties were men of combat age. Yes – according to Hamas’ own data.

This time, the task is far more complex. Analysing a list of more than 50,000 names is no simple feat. But we are living in a new era – the era of artificial intelligence. I don’t claim to be an expert in the tools or the methods. But at least two meticulous individuals have taken on this challenge – and it turns out both reached the same conclusion.

Before even discussing their findings, one must state clearly: in the case of genocide, there cannot be any meaningful gap between the age distribution of the population and that of the casualties. Genocide, by definition, entails indiscriminate killing – the mass murder of women, children, infants and the elderly, all with the goal of eradicating a population. That is what happened in Darfur. That is what happened in Rwanda. That is not what happened in Gaza.

If it were genocide, there would be no statistical difference between men and women among the dead.

In the ongoing war in Gaza, like previous ones, Hamas’ own data expose the genocide lie. A breakdown of the casualties by age and gender, based on the list published by Hamas’ Health Ministry, shows a stark pattern: across nearly all fighting-age groups, from 14 to 59, men vastly outnumber women among the dead. In most of these age brackets, the number of male casualties is double or more than double that of females.

The figures are most striking in the core combatant age range. Between ages 20 and 44, Hamas data shows 5,850 women were killed, compared to 17,000 men – nearly a threefold difference. Again, these are not figures from an Israeli source but from Hamas itself. 

By contrast, among the infants killed, aged 0 to 4, the percentage of male and female deaths roughly aligns with their proportion in the general population, hovering around 50%. 

These figures can be called many things – but genocide is not one of them. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy, and the responsibility for this war, from its outset, lies with Hamas, which initiated this cursed war. There is also no denying that irregularities occurred during the fighting, possibly including war crimes. Certainly, there was likely reckless fire. Every suspicion of a war crime – such as the incident in which 15 paramedics were reportedly shot in Rafah – must be investigated and, indeed, many investigations have already been launched. But let us repeat: even if we take Hamas’ data as accurate, they do not support any claim of genocide.

Ben-Dror Yemini is an Israeli journalist, lecturer and author of the book Industry of Lies: Media, Academia, and the Israeli-Arab Conflict (2017). In 2021 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israeli Journalists Union. © Yediot Ahronot (Ynetnews.com), reprinted by permission, all rights reserved.