The so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” backed by the U.S., operates under the guise of aid distribution but in practice functions as a death trap where Palestinians are faced with live ammunition while seeking food. Palestinians are not merely starving in a vacuum- they are being starved by Israel. This essential context must be included.
To the Toronto Star and Associated Press Newsrooms,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding your article titled: “Facing global isolation at UN, a defiant Netanyahu says Israel ‘must finish the job’ against Hamas” published on September 26, 2025.
As the article notes, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the United Nations in New York while many world leaders walked out in protest. Iran, for instance, left a poster at its seat commemorating Iranians killed by Israel. These symbolic acts, alongside protests outside the UN, demonstrate Israel’s global isolation and the growing international frustration with its consistent violations of international law: its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza; its relentless airstrikes in Gaza, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon; its illegal settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank; and its attacks on the Sumud flotilla in Tunisian waters and the Madleen flotilla in international waters.
The article rightly notes that Netanyahu is currently facing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, it also reproduces his dehumanizing rhetoric without skepticism or challenge. His claim that recognition of Palestinian statehood “will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere” is a calculated attempt to equate the recognition of Palestinian self-determination with terrorism. Left unchallenged, such derogatory language reinforces a dangerous narrative that portrays Palestinians as inherently violent. Reporting should make clear that these remarks are part of a political strategy to silence criticism of Israel as an apartheid state committing the gravest crimes under international law and to stifle any pursuit of Palestinian self-determination. At minimum, these claims must be balanced by Palestinian voices to ensure accuracy and fairness.
The article further states that “Israel’s sweeping offensive has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza and displaced 90 percent of its population, with an increasing number now starving.” Palestinians have not been experiencing a two-year “offensive” but rather decades of brutal occupation, dispossession, ethnic cleansing, and now — an ongoing genocide. Just last week, the UN Commission concluded that Israel is committing the crime of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
I respectfully ask that your reporting amend this misleading language and instead reflect the terminology recognized in international humanitarian law, in line with the accuracy standards described by the Canadian Association of Journalists.
Finally, the article refers to “an increasing number” of Palestinians “starving” but omits crucial context: Israel is deliberately engineering a man-made famine by blocking humanitarian aid from entering the Strip. The so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” backed by the U.S., operates under the guise of aid distribution but in practice functions as a death trap where Palestinians are faced with live ammunition while seeking food. Palestinians are not merely starving in a vacuum- they are being starved by Israel. This essential context must be included.
I kindly ask this feedback be taken into consideration, in the interest of accurate, fair, and balanced reporting.
Lynn Naji
Media analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East