Would you bomb a school to take out a school shooter? Probably not, but Israel might. This has been the situation in Gaza for over a month. 

While the focus has been on Oct. 7, we ask: what about Oct. 12, Oct. 21, Oct. 24 and every other day since Oct. 7? What about 2014, 2008, 2005, 1994, 1973 and more? What about 1948? This event did not occur in a vacuum, which is what mainstream media has failed to capture. 

On Oct. 7, Hamas, an Islamist militant group governing Gaza, launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking 242 hostages. Following this attack, Israel launched a full bombardment and besiegement of the Gaza Strip, effectively cutting off food, water, medicine, and power. 

It has been over a month of constant bombardment and, as Al Jazeera News reports, 25,000 tons of bombs have been dropped on Gaza during this period. According to the Washington Post, the death toll has surpassed 11,000 people with the majority being women and children (about 4,600 children). 

The problem is, these numbers don’t add up. While Israel has issued evacuation notices and warnings, it still does not make it acceptable to bomb residential buildings, schools, hospitals, churches, mosques and refugee camps solely because they believe Hamas is operating out of these buildings. In fact, what Israel has done classifies as collective punishment and targeting of civilians, which violates international law and amounts to war crimes, according to an article by Reuters.

While we’ve grown to trust large news agencies, it’s important to remember that not even the biggest and most popular sources are immune to bias. In this situation, the West owns the narrative as most major news agencies covering this situation are Western companies. In contrast, Al Jazeera News is the only news source not based in the West that has been covering the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. 

The situation has been marketed as a “war” by many sources but this term suggests that two militaries or two somewhat equal powers are against each other. Even when considering Hamas, the Israeli military’s technology far outweighs the people and technology that make up Hamas. 

Many also have interpreted the situation as a religious war. However, this perspective fails to recognize that Christians, Jews and Muslims lived peacefully together in Palestine before 1948, even sharing the holy city of Jerusalem. This is not a religious war – it is not a war at all. This is the mass execution and removal of thousands of Palestinians to make way for a  colonial settlement. 

This genocide should be a tipping point for the people of the world, pushing them to look into the history of war and pain in Palestine. Their suffering did not begin on Oct. 7, or even in 2023. Not only is this a chance for people to learn from past mistakes, but also a crossroads for journalism as a field. Some media outlets can continue to overlook genocide and subtly uphold dehumanization and ethnic cleansing, or they can take this opportunity to share the truth with the world.

Reflecting Guilford College’s core Quaker values, the topics and content of staff editorials are chosen through consensus of all editors and one faculty adviser of The Guilfordian’s Editorial Board.

Editor’s note: This staff editorial originally was published in Volume 110, Issue 9 of The Guilfordian on Nov. 17, 2023.