Denouncing ‘campaign of lies,’ Netanyahu asserts Israel provides aid; ‘otherwise, there would be no Gazans’

Speaking at a conference on Sunday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the reports of a famine in Gaza and the recent changes to Israel’s humanitarian aid strategy, while speaking about Israel’s “battle for truth.” 

The “Together as One” conference, organized in partnership between The Meaning Channel and the Christian network Daystar, was held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem, with Netanyahu attending alongside his wife, Sara.

In his speech, Netanyahu referred to the “Judeo-Christian tradition that promoted the belief in monotheism, a single God, that developed the idea of the sanctity of life, the sanctity of individual life, the idea of freedom.” 

He spoke about the “common tradition” between Israel and the United States, rooted in their connection to the Bible.

The Israeli prime minister also spoke about what he called a “campaign of lies” aimed at undermining the shared biblical values, attributing it to “an Islamist fundamentalism.”

“Israel is now portrayed as the enemy of Christians. And the enemies of Christians are portrayed as the friends of the United States,” Netanyahu stated.

He said the campaign is being spread in the U.S. “by purchased influencers,” without specifying names of individuals.

After several conservative influencers have accused Israel of oppressing Christians, Netanyahu noted that the Jewish state is the only Middle Eastern country where Christians thrive. 

“Israel has a thriving Christian community, the only thriving Christian community in the broad radius of the Middle East, where Christians are not "tolerated", they're cherished,” he stated.

“You can light Christmas trees in Nazareth – but in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, when Israel left and the Palestinian Authority came in, the Christian majority shrank from 80% to under 20%, because there was no more Israel to protect them.” 

The prime minister then appealed to representatives of countries with large Christian populations. 

“I want to address also the ambassadors who are here. Your countries have strong Christian communities and a strong bond with us, too. And I want to thank you for your support and the many, many millions around the world who have voiced support for Israel during our great battles here,” Netanyahu said during his speech.

“We haven't finished, but we're winning, and we'll continue to win. But the main thing that I want to stress is the importance of winning the battle for truth. And that is a battle that we fought even as we speak now.” 

He said that the “campaign of lies” is being used against Israel in regards to humanitarian aid. 

“Israel is presented as though we are applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza. What a bold-faced lie,” he stated. “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza. We enable humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war to enter Gaza – otherwise, there would be no Gazans.” 

Netanyahu accused Hamas of seizing aid intended for Palestinian civilians. 

“And what has interdicted the supply of humanitarian aid is one force – Hamas. Again, the reverse of the truth,” he argued. “Hamas robs, steals this humanitarian aid and then accuses Israel of not supplying it.” 

Netanyahu highlighted the amount of food Israel has facilitated to enter the Strip since the start of the war, while also chiding the United Nations for not delivering the aid that Israel has allowed to enter. 

“There are hundreds and hundreds of trucks loaded with tons – so far we've supplied 1.9 million tons of food since the beginning of the war, almost two million tons – and now we have hundreds of trucks that are waiting on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing,” he said, repeating claims made by the IDF's COGAT unit.

“And it's international organizations, some of them very well-intended, and it's the UN too, food that they purchased, and we say: go ahead, deliver it. And they say: we can't, because combat is going on. And we say: yes, where we're fighting, we'll continue to fight, but there are safe corridors. You can bring the food to anywhere you want, that is not a problem.” 

Referring to the recent changes, Netanyahu admitted that many of changes were designed to contradict the “egregious falsehood.” 

“So we have just announced that formally: here are safe corridors. And the UN has no excuses left. No excuses left. Stop lying. Stop finding excuses. Do what you have to do and stop accusing Israel deliberately of this egregious falsehood,” Netanyahu asserted. 

“There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza, and I assure you that we have a commitment to achieve our war goals,” he continued.

“We will continue to fight till we achieve the release of our hostages and the destruction of Hamas's military and governing capabilities. They shall be there no more. We shall not have any more of these massacres, we shall not have any more of these monstrosities. We stand for human freedom and human life, and that is not commensurate with Hamas or with Iran or other Iranian proxies.” 

“We have fought this battle together; we shall win it together. And I want to assure you that we have great faith in your faith, and in our faith,” Netanyahu said in closing.

“We have a common bond. It is strong, it is something that represents the vast majority of Americans and I would say, just about all Israelis, and by the way, Jews and non-Jews alike, because we know that our standing together assures our common future.”