Young Americans frustrated by Israel's offensive in Gaza

WASHINGTON

A growing number of young Americans are frustrated by Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Jaden Robert, an 18-year-old student at Howard University in Washington, D.C., said there is a “genocide” going on and that “most of Gaza has already been cleansed” based on information he has seen on social media platforms such as TikTok.

He said journalists in Gaza “are really trying to extract the information that we don't know, everything that's happening,” adding: “The journalists that are still alive are trying their best to spread it everywhere else.”

He said the Biden administration’s response to the war in Gaza is “disgusting,” adding: “We did vote for him. Obviously it was him or (Donald) Trump, but we chose him.”

“We are the ones who are responsible…He did support Israel. He did fund them. He is still funding them and still supporting them, and we kind of have an option to choose him or try to change the system,” he added.

Amaya Clard, 19, another student at Howard University, said although she has followed the news coming from Gaza “pretty lightly,” she said she is “aware of the genocide going on and the displacement of Palestinian people and the atrocities committed by Israel in order to remove them from their homes.”

“I'm aware of the different types of arguments that people have made to whether justify or go against their actions,” she added.

She said she is “quite disappointed” by the Joe Biden administration’s response to the conflict, adding: “I really wish he would step up as one of the most powerful leaders in the world and use the power that he has to speak out against what is going on and really use his voice to denounce the genocide that is happening.”

Austin Nellesse, a 21-year-old student from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., said he follows the news from Gaza roughly every other day, “but not too in-depth.”

“I would say, as to what I think about it, I definitely think it's an all-around unfortunate and tragic situation that is going on,” he said.

About the genocide allegations against Israel, he said he does not know the specifics and does not know about whether it constitutes a genocide.

Diego Bigelow, 21, from Georgetown University said: “It's a terrible situation like all around ever since everything started.”

“It's been heartbreaking headline after headline, and it's horrible,” he added.

Geenan Altayb, 18, from Howard University said there has been a pro-Palestine group called HU SJP (Howard University Students for Justice in Palestine) actively organizing some events and protests related to Gaza on the campus.

Asked what she knows about the war in Gaza, she said: “I just know that like children are being killed every day, families, women and there's more donations going to it,” she added.

According to an Economist/YouGov poll released last week, Americans aged 18-29 are far more likely to agree that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza than other age groups.

Forty-nine percent said so compared to a little more than one-third of the general public, according to the poll.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 26,900 Palestinians and injuring 65,387. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands issued its interim ruling on Friday in which it ordered Israel to take "all measures within its power" to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but fell short of mandating a cease-fire.