"Expanding ground offensive in Gaza"
Expanding Genocide
First I’ll lay some groundwork for the letter to the President and elected officials. Feel free to skip to the end to read the letter.
Gaza Today, in the NYTimes
Today, in the New York Times, Aaron Boxerman reporting from Jerusalem noted, “The vast majority of Gaza’s roughly two million residents have already been forcibly displaced at least once — many of them several times — during the war.” This is after noting, “Israel declared this week that it was expanding its ground offensive to the Gaza Strip, vowing to seize swaths of the enclave in an effort to force the surrender of Hamas after more than 19 months of war.” (Link to article.)
The NYTimes article had other staggering statistics: “53,000 people have been killed in Gaza” since October 7, 2023. This in comparison to the 1,200 people killed and 250 people taken hostage by Hamas…on October 7, 2023. Since October 7, 2023, 590 days have passed—that means, for 1 year 7 months and 11 days Israel has been on the offensive. Multiple ceasefires have been reached, and then breeched, including in March 2025, when our own news couldn’t hide the fact that it was Israel that broke the latest ceasefire.
“Israelis were surprised by the return to war, too. More than half of the living Israeli hostages freed under the latest ceasefire deal — 14 out of 25 living Israelis freed in the last several months — said the move endangered the lives of the 24 other hostages still held in Gaza and believed to be alive.” NPR, March 19, 2025
As Israel “expands” its genocide against Gazans and Palestinians as a whole, President Donald Trump, his family, and the U.S. entourage have been courted by Princes of the Middle East. The world sees what value billionaires—Princes, Emirs, Business Titans, and U.S. Presidents—place on regular people. To them, common people are pawns to be manipulated, displaced, sold, or bombed into dust.
“Offensive” or “Defensive”
For Israel to “expand” its “offensive,” Hamas would need at least a defensive. The IDF is an elite military, and is ranked as one of the most powerful militaries in the world. In addition to internal funding, they also benefit enormously from annual funding of +$3 billion annually from the U.S. (actually, in 2024 it was over $17 billion in U.S. funds1,2).
What is Hamas? They are listed as terrorists organizations who are adept at “asymmetrical warfare.”3
The very nature of “asymmetrical warfare” makes it almost impossible to have a true defensive/offensive war. Ask our veterans of the Vietnam war. These wars become one of attrition; unless a truce is reached. Israeli leaders have known this since the country’s modern founding, and have always opted for war over a truce.
The “expanded offensive” Israel is engaged in is one where Israel makes more living space4,5,6 for Israelis by killing and once again displacing Palestinians. Don’t take my word for it; read quotes from Israeli leaders and founders.
Israeli leaders’ goals for Gaza and Palestinians:
Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River.” (Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, said in a new conference, January 2024)7
Gaza is “the city of evil.” “We will turn all the places where Hamas is organized and hiding into cities of ruins. I say to the residents of Gaza: get out of there now. We will act everywhere and with all our strength.” (Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, said in October 2023 to set the tone for their “offensive.”)8
"It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly and courageously, a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism, colonialization, or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands." (from Agence France Presse, November 15, 1998 Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel (2001-2006))9
"After the formation of a large army in the wake of the establishment of the [Jewish] state, we shall abolish partition and expand to the whole of the Palestine" (from The Birth of Israel: Myths and Realities, p. 22; David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister (1948-1953, 1955-1963))
""[the indigenous Palestinian population was akin to] the rocks of Judea, as obstacles that had to be cleared on a difficult path." (from Expulsion of the Palestinians, p. 17), Moshe Sharett, Israel's first President (1949-1952))
"Once again I come face to face with the land settlement difficulties that emanate from the existence of two people in close proximity...only population transfer and evacuating this country so it would become exclusively for us is the solution. " (from Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 132, Yosef Weitz, director, Jewish National Fund Land Settlement Committee (1932-1948))
Letter to President Trump & U.S. Elected Officials
Dear Mr. President:
Today, the New York Times highlighted Israel’s “expanded ground offensive” in Gaza. The same article noted that 53,000 Gazans have already died, millions have been displaced, and an equal number are on the brink of starvation because of Israel’s continued blockade of food and other necessities.
This is not an “expanded ground offensive,” this is the final stage in a genocide with an ultimate goal of annihilating Gazans and ultimately all Palestinians. David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett, Yosef Weitz—founders of Israel—were clear on their goal for the “expulsion” of Palestinians. From modern times, we remember Ariel Sharon’s quote: “The first of these is that there is no Zionism, colonialization, or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands." (Agence France Presse, Nov. 15, 1998.) Which aligns with Benjamin Netanyahu message that Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River.”
Mr. President, I do not support your tax-payer funded tour of the Middle East, schmoozing with billionaire Princes and Emirs, while accepting their gifts. Your time and our tax-payer money should have been spent finding a peaceful solution to the genocide happening in Israel. Instead, while you were in the Middle East, Israel “expanded” their “offensive.”
I do not support this war or genocide, and I do not support the continued use of U.S. tax payer money to support this war or genocide. Further, we must compel Israel to stop this genocide. I stand with all innocent civilians of any nation, ethnicity or religion. We must demand peace and coexistence.
Brown University. https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2023/2024/Costs%20of%20War_US%20Support%20Since%20Oct%207%20FINAL%20v2.pdf
AJC. https://www.ajc.org/news/what-every-american-should-know-about-us-aid-to-israel
DW. https://www.dw.com/en/how-do-hamas-and-hezbollah-compare-with-israel-militarily/a-67166698
The Holocaust Explained. “Lebensraum”, https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/lebensraum/#:~:text=Lebensraum-,Lebensraum,area%20for%20German%2Dspeaking%20peoples.
Newsweek. Israel Needs 'Lebensraum' Says Blog by Major National Newspaper. https://www.newsweek.com/israel-needs-lebensraum-says-blog-major-national-newspaper-1996635
Haaretz. https://www.haaretz.com/2011-08-26/ty-article/lebensraum-as-a-justification-for-israeli-settlements/0000017f-e6ef-dea7-adff-f7ffc0bd0000
AP News. https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-01-18-2024-73d552c6e73e0dc3783a0a11b2b5f67d?taid=65a95f27cc8ea90001513093
The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/13/israel-darkest-day-24-hours-of-terror-hamas-gaza
IMEU. https://imeu.org/article/what-leading-israelis-have-said-about-the-nakba