Last week audio of a phone call between an IDF official and a Palestinian in Gaza, who was in charge of a high rise building, was released. The IDF official was trying to get the man to clear the building because they were going to bomb it. But the man refused, instead telling the IDF official that they children must die to expose Israel’s cruelty:
IDF: We’re going to bomb the building.
Gazan: Bomb.
IDF: No, we need to do everything so you don’t die.
Gazan: We want to die.
IDF: You have a responsibility for kid’s lives!
Gazan: If kids need to die then they will…this is how we reveal your cruelty pic.twitter.com/sM8PnHGYYX— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) May 19, 2021
Before I posted this, I got in touch with Walid Shoebat to verify the translation. He did verify it, but gave me a more complete and accurate translation of the conversation:
PALESTINIAN: My beloved [brother], I do not have enough time to get all these people out. I need to least 2 hours. There’s a lot of people.
IDF OFFICIAL: Listen brother, if you don’t get them all out I’m going to fire anyway.
PALESTINIAN: Ok go ahead and fire. You’re free to do it..
IDF OFFICIAL: If you don’t get [them] out I will fire.
PALESTINIAN: You go ahead and fire. Whatever you want to do, you go ahead and do it.
IDF OFFICIAL: Brother brother, listen brother, we have to do everything possible so there will be no death. You have a responsibility for these people.
PALESTINIAN: No the children must die.
IDF OFFICIAL: Allah forbid [the children die]!
PALESTINIAN: They must die to show your ugly cruelty.
Clearly the Palestinian was trying to buy time with the IDF official, because it doesn’t take ten minutes or so to evacuate a building like that. The IDF knew this and was essentially calling the man’s bluff, putting pressure on him to clear the building. The man simply refused to help the IDF official so that children would die and the IDF would be blamed.
This is the kind of cruelty the Israelis are up against and it needs to be exposed.