Genocide by air is allowed!

Despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor's request for the arrest of Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, and the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) ruling for Israel to halt its attacks on Rafah, the Israeli military continues its massacres. U.S. President Joe Biden had declared that a ground offensive on Rafah by Israel would be considered a "red line." Consequently, the Biden administration temporarily suspended the shipment of 500-pound and 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. Not only these bombs, but Israel also relies on the U.S. for almost all its military equipment. Meanwhile, Biden insists that there has been no relaxation in the U.S.'s commitments to Israel's defense.

Biden's red line doesn't actually involve protecting the lives of babies, children, or women. It doesn't prevent the slaughter of over a million displaced people who have taken refuge in Rafah due to Israeli bombings. As the Israeli military tightens its siege around Rafah, it continues to bomb tents housing civilians, killing dozens of Palestinians. Biden's red line seems to have no impact on Israel's actions.

The impunity that Israel enjoys only emboldens its brutality. Some pro-Israel members of the U.S. Congress have even announced that they will punish the ICC if it issues an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. ICC judges face potential U.S. sanctions if they approve the arrest request.

Had the ICC Prosecutor only sought the arrest of Hamas leaders, the Biden administration would likely have celebrated the court and praised the rule-based international order. The U.S. had similarly welcomed the ICC's arrest warrant for Putin over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. In contrast, Israel has killed at least 15,000 children in Gaza. Biden's red line does not cover these aerial massacres of children. In reality, Biden's red line is an empty rhetoric.

Israel's sole objective is to completely devastate Gaza. It is mercilessly bombing everything, living or dead, in Gaza. This destruction is facilitated by the U.S. and its Western allies, who send aircraft carriers, bombs, shells, missiles, and other military equipment to the Eastern Mediterranean, enabling Israel to continue its onslaught on Gaza without any hindrance.

In 1982, "Christian Phalangists" attacked Palestinian refugee camps Sabra and Shatila near Beirut, under the watchful eyes of the occupying Israeli army. Over three days, more than 3,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were slaughtered, earning then-Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon the title "Butcher of Beirut."

Before these massacres, Yasser Arafat and thousands of PLO members had left Lebanon under an agreement, while thousands of Palestinian civilians were relocated to Sabra and Shatila camps. Sharon had assured the U.S. that Israel would not attack these camps, yet he allowed and facilitated the Phalangists' massacre. The Israeli army had surrounded the camps, claiming the presence of PLO fighters, and Phalangists, under Israeli supervision, brutally killed defenseless civilians.

Today's Gaza mirrors the tragedy of Sabra and Shatila. The difference lies in Israel's current protection by the U.S. and its allies, who have turned Gaza, predominantly inhabited by Palestinians displaced in the 1967 war, into a wasteland. The U.S. and its allies have dispatched aircraft carriers to the Eastern Mediterranean to prevent any interference with Netanyahu's massacres and to ensure no aid reaches the Gazans. This backing allows Israel to carry on its unimpeded genocide in Gaza.

Now, Israel's allies in the U.S. Congress are racing to shield Israel from "international law" and protect those guilty of genocide. They are even inviting "the Butcher of Gaza" Netanyahu to address Congress as an "honored guest." As for Biden's red line—there is no such line, but genocide, massacre, and ethnic cleansing are undeniable realities.