Israel’s new controversial aid initiative in Gaza and its support for the Abu Shabab criminal gang rivaling Hamas share the common goal of helping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prolong the war, journalist Nir Hasson said on the Haaretz Podcast. 

“Netanyahu must preserve the radical right-wing fantasy of ethnic cleansing in Gaza for political survival. For this, he needs the war to continue,” said Hasson, who covers the humanitarian toll of the war for Haaretz.

Hasson said that until “we have any other proof” of who is behind the shadowy Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, he regards it as “a proxy of the State of Israel.” Therefore, he said, Israel’s leaders are responsible for the “humiliating” and “dangerous” scenes at GHF aid distribution sites.  

In his conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Hasson also discussed his Haaretz investigation into the failure of Israel’s evacuation warnings to protect civilians in Gaza. 

“In Gaza, there is nowhere to run. Even the IDF safe zones are not safe,” he said. “Israel has really pushed the civilian population of Gaza to the edge.”

The unprecedented level of destruction and human suffering there, Hasson said, has reached the point where “I can’t find the words anymore to describe the way I feel about what we’re doing in Gaza. And I'm not alone in this feeling. [There are] more and more Israelis around me that think that it's gone too far. 

“If we had the excuse of not taking humanitarian issues into consideration because of the trauma of October 7 – it's about time to start talking about it. …I hope we'll see it more, but it's not going fast enough.”

Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel in English. 

Read more from Nir Hasson:

Armed Gaza Militia Rivaling Hamas Hands Out Aid in Israeli-controlled Zone 

Testimonies: IDF Responsible for Lethal Shootings Near U.S.-led Aid Site in Gaza

Hunger Games: Israel Forces Gazans to Choose Between Starvation and Risking Their Lives 

An American Doctor Visited Gaza and Saw the Horror Up Close. Five Cases Haunt Her

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