Gaza Herald- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn outrage after suggesting that Israel could devastate Gaza in the same manner the Allies destroyed the German city of Dresden during World War II, an attack infamous for its massive civilian death toll and wholesale destruction.
Speaking to the right-wing US broadcaster Newsmax, Netanyahu was asked why Israel does not simply “wipe Hamas and the Gaza Strip off the map.” In response, he asserted, “We can bomb them like the Allies bombed Dresden. We could starve them if we believed the vilifications, these false lies told about Israel, then nobody would be alive already.”
Netanyahu attempted to portray Israel’s military approach as restrained, claiming: “But that’s not what we do, because we follow a basic rule: we try to move the population away, separate civilians from the terrorists, and go after the terrorists only.”
His comments come against the backdrop of widespread devastation in Gaza that contradicts his narrative. Since October 2023, Israeli military operations have reduced entire cities to rubble. Data from Israel’s own Hebrew University, published in July, shows that more than 89 percent of Rafah’s buildings in southern Gaza and 84 percent of structures across northern Gaza have been destroyed.
Gaza Death Toll Rising
The human toll has been catastrophic. In the same period, at least 61,722 Palestinians have been killed and another 154,525 wounded, according to local health authorities. The vast majority of the dead are civilians, including thousands of children, women, and elderly people. Entire neighborhoods have been levelled, displacing nearly the whole population of the enclave and leaving survivors without shelter, food, or clean water.
For many observers, Netanyahu’s reference to Dresden, a historical event often cited as an example of disproportionate and indiscriminate wartime violence, underscores the scale and intent of Israel’s military campaign. While he claims Israel is taking precautions to protect civilians, the destruction across Gaza paints a picture of collective punishment and systematic targeting of the population, actions that international legal experts warn could amount to war crimes.
