just turn our attention for a couple of
minutes to the latest uh situation in
Gaza and indeed in Israel where protests
have unfolded across the country in
opposition to the government Benjamin
Netanyahu urging him to strike a deal
with Hamas, free the hostages and end
the war. It comes after global outrage
after an Israeli attack on a Gaza
hospital yesterday left journalists,
medics, and aid workers among at least
20 people who were killed. The Israeli
military saying on Tuesday today, an
initial inquiry into that strike killed
five journalists had identified a Hamas
camera in the area.
Not even a Hamas operative, not a Hamas
leader, not terrorist, a camera. That's
where we've got to. Gideon Levy is an
Israeli journalist and author, a
columnist for the newspaper. Gideon,
we'll start with the protests. We've
seen widespread protests across Israel
at the Netanyahu leadership before,
including quite recently. How
significant are the latest um ones?
Afternoon.
It is significant but only up to limited
measures
because finally those demonstrations as
devoted and as impressive they are they
have no effect on Netanyahu. The
protesters are not his political base
and he can easily ignore them. This is
true from the beginning of the war and
it is true now. I want to put your
attention to the fact that those people
are mainly protesting
for releasing the hostages and for the
fall of the government. Only very few of
them are protesting against the genocide
in Gaza and this is also regrettable.
But in any case, it is still there. It
is a comfort for the families of the
hostages obviously that they are not
alone. But a political effect they don't
have. What proportion of Israeli society
do these protesters speak for, Gideon?
Are they the voice of the majority?
>> I don't know. I mean, the polls show the
majority of Israel want to see the end
of the war and want to see a deal now.
So, from this point of view, it is a
majority. Does the majority of Israel
want to see Netanyahu being replaced? It
changes. Right now, there is a majority
who say so. But this does not guarantee
that in the next elections he will not
be elected. So yes, it is a majority but
you know the government has a very solid
majority right now. The coalition has a
solid majority and they can continue to
do whatever they want.
>> Let's just talk about that strike
yesterday, the latest Israeli strike uh
on a Gaza hospital uh two air strikes
several minutes apart killing at least
20 people including five journalists. Um
what has the Israeli government said
about that
>> in this case and likely all the other
cases and you can't isolate this
incident because it's almost a weekly
incident if not a daily but somehow
because of the international protest
this time in a very very rare
opportunity the government regretted it
and explained that it was not by
intention
but it is totally hollow. Israel will
continue to bomb hospitals, will
continue to shoot journalists and medics
and others. Nothing will change in the
policy.
>> Do you think it's an intentional
strategy?
>> It is a strategy of shooting anything
which moves in Gaza in order to make
Gaza an unlivable place. And if it's a
journalist, it's a journalist. And if
it's a aid worker, it's an aid worker.
The idea is to make Gaza unlivable, to
push all the rest of the people who
survive this hell to the south and then
to offer them one of two possibilities.
One is to stay in those concentration
camps or to leave the Gaza Strip. In
good English, this is called ethnic
cleansing and it is a crime of war.
Netanyahu taking social media yesterday
to insist that Israel deeply regrets
what he called the tragic mishap that
occurred at the NASA hospital in Gaza.
Um, Israel values the work of
journalists, medical staff, and all
civilians. You say, Gideon, what that
that's just a downright lie. after 250
killed journalist. You can't take this
seriously and and you can't take
seriously when he regrets it when you
know that it will happen again today,
tomorrow or in a week. I can guarantee
you this is much more sure than many
other things. Israel will continue to
kill journalists and medics and aid
workers and innocent people and children
and babies.
>> Appreciate your time. Thank you very
much for coming on. That's Gideon Levy,
columnist for the Israeli newspaper