La Derecha Diario Netanyahu against the international press: 'They spread lies about hunger in Gaza'
The PM assured that if Israel had implemented a starvation policy, no one would have survived two years of war
In a press conference with international media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out against what he described as a "campaign of lies" about an alleged Israeli policy of starvation in the Gaza Strip.
"Contrary to the false claims, our policy throughout the war has been to prevent a humanitarian crisis, while Hamas's policy has been to provoke one," Netanyahu stated.
He added that Israel has allowed the entry of almost two million tons of humanitarian aid since the beginning of the conflict.
"If our policy were one of starvation, no one in Gaza would have survived two years of war," he said.
The prime minister stated that the Israeli army has taken measures to protect the Gazan civilian population, but denounced that Hamas has violently attacked aid trucks, and that the UN, unable to distribute it, has let tons of food go to waste.
As an example, he showed images of trucks with food parked at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Netanyahu emphasized that, despite the obstacles, two million people in Gaza currently receive humanitarian assistance, but he pointed out that "the only ones who are being deliberately deprived of food are our hostages."
To illustrate this, he displayed a photograph of the Israeli hostage Evyatar David, released by Hamas, and compared it to the robust arm of a militant from the group who appeared in the same image.
During his speech, Netanyahu accused the international press of having accepted "without question" the narratives and graphic material from Hamas.
He showed cases of minors presented as victims of starvation who, in reality, suffer from genetic or neurological diseases, such as little Osama al-Rakab, evacuated by Israel to receive treatment in Italy, or Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub, who suffers from cerebral palsy.
The prime minister even suggested that his government is considering taking legal action against The New York Times, which he accused of disseminating these images. "These are malicious lies like those spread in the Middle Ages, and we won't tolerate them," he declared.
Netanyahu concluded his message with an appeal to the international press: "I hope you open your eyes to a simple fact: Hamas lies".
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