GUEST BLOG: Ian Powell – How to justify 400,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza: Ask ‘Zelda’

I have published three previous blog posts on Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza by means of genocide. Ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is also occurring although through violent repression rather than genocide.

The first (5 March) discussed Zionist Israel’s close supportive relationship with South Africa under apartheid and, since 1948, the former’s continued status as an apartheid state: When Apartheid meets Zionism.

The second (28 May) discussed the logic behind supporting ethnic cleansing and genocide: Reasons for supporting ethnic cleansing through genocide in Palestine.

The third (4 June) was a postscript to the second with the added emphasis on the New Zealand government recognising the state of Palestine: Ethnic cleansing, genocide and recognition of Palestine.

All the above posts have been in the context of advocating that the New Zealand government should recognise Palestine as an official state along with sanctions and other actions. Now one Zelda has come to the fore providing further grunt for this advocacy.

How to justify genocide and ethnic cleansing: enter Zelda

Bomber Bradbury does a favour by luring in Zelda to provide the core justification for Zionist genocide

My blogs are republished (with permission) on the politically turbocharged Bomber Bradbury’s hyperactive The Daily Blog. It led to a prompt strident biblically dogmatic response (5 June) from a person called Zelda.

Zelda may well be a pseudonym. It is a primarily female name of German origin. Some consider it to be a diminutive of the German Griselda, which has a similar meaning of “dark” or “gray battle”.

Zelda is also a Yiddish name that means “fortunate” or “happy”. It was originally a short form of the name Griselda.

I can do no more that quote verbatim Zelda’s justification for the ethnic cleansing through genocide of Palestinians by the Israeli government. There are other claimed justifications but hers goes to the core; it provides the stem for everything else.

In Zelda’s words:

Gaza belongs to Israel! This is not just a political claim; it is a sacred, unbreakable decree from Almighty God Himself. If any government from around the world recognises Palestine, the United States needs to declare it part of the Axis of Evil

The land was promised by divine covenant to the people of Israel, chosen by God to be His light in the darkness. No enemy, no terrorist, no foreign power can wrest it away. Those who reject this truth stand against God’s will and will face His judgment. If Palestinians want aid and peace, they must recognize Israel’s God-given right and leave Gaza forever. Only under God’s blessing can this land flourish, and all who defy His plan will be cast down.

What more can one say! If one believes this it is barely a hop, skip and a jump from believing that while Israeli lives are valuable, Palestinians lives are of no value at all.

Further, while Israelis have an absolute right to self-determination by any means necessary, Palestinians have no right at all.

Understanding Palestinian deaths in Gaza

Zelda’s justification has to be seen in the context of the reality of Gaza beginning with its size. It is roughly the same geographic size as the Kāpiti Coast in the lower North Island where I live. Both have coastlines running their full lengths.

Gaza’s map provides initial context

Putting aside the absence of ethnic cleansing and genocide, the population of my ‘home turf’ is a mere 2-3% of Gaza’s Palestinian population.

The highly regarded British medical journal The Lancet (10 July 2024) provided additional context about Gaza death rates: Counting the Gaza dead.

By 19 June 2024, the official tally of Palestinian deaths since Israel’s murderous war in Gaza began was nearly 38,000. These figures are accepted by the United Nations and the World Health Organisation along with official Israeli intelligence but not the Israeli government.

However, the article reports the number of reported deaths is likely an underestimate. Not all names of identifiable victims are included in the list and the number of bodies still buried in the rubble was likely substantial (some estimates were over 10,000).

Further, based on analyses of recent conflicts, indirect deaths (such as through starvation) range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths.

Consequently, The Lancet concluded that by applying a conservative estimate it was not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Now contrast this above estimate with the officially recognised tally of nearly 38,000 (around 20% of the estimated actual deaths).

Direct from the Israel Defence Force

If ever a country’s army was to be designated a terrorist organisation, it should be the Israel Defence Force (IDF). For its brutality towards Palestinians, it deserved this designation well before its implementation of the current genocide in Gaza.

It should be noted, however, that many Israeli reservists who had served in the IDF have courageously spoken out against this terrorism.

It should also be noted that the IDF does collect useful data on its exploits. Such is the level of repressed internal disgust that it leaks, or brave academics sometime succeed in extrapolating it.

Dr Raj Thamotheram worked for many years in finance, particularly investment. Now he is fully independent. He is the Founder and was the Executive Chair of Preventable Surprises, a ‘think-do’ tank focused on how investors can better manage systemic risks.

Professor Peter Davis discovers an extremely distressing report

Medical sociologist Professor Peter Davis has done New Zealanders a favour by reposting a LinkedIn post (25 June) by Thamotheram. In the latter’s words:

An Israeli academic has just released a report using IDF’s own internal estimates, and the findings are staggering.
According to Professor Yaakov Garb from Ben-Gurion University, around 1.85 million Palestinians remain alive in Gaza.
That means over 370,000 people – most of them civilians – may have been killed. This number is echoed by estimates from The Lancet Group and independent researchers, suggesting a death toll that could already exceed 400,000.
Among them, more than 150,000 are likely to be children. That’s not a typo – it’s a generation of young lives, gone. And many more are at risk today – not just from bombs, but from hunger, disease, and the collapse of basic healthcare.
Garb also analyzed international aid distribution compounds inside Gaza. His conclusion is chilling: these sites, shaped by a military mindset, are making things worse. Instead of providing safety, their chaotic layout is fueling panic and putting civilians in the line of fire.
But this devastation isn’t inevitable. It’s the result of choices – and that means it can still be changed.
Humanitarian groups, legal experts, and brave citizens across the world are working to stop the killing, get aid where it’s needed, and hold those responsible to account.
But a lot depends on those who are still bystanding. On the movable middle.
You have a choice. To speak out. To demand that our governments act. To stand with people fighting not just for survival – but for dignity, justice, and peace.
What’s happening in Gaza is not just a tragedy. It’s a test of who we are – and what we’re willing to stand for.

 

Time for New Zealand government to belatedly do the right thing

This estimate (give or take) of 400,000 Palestinian deaths due to Israel’s genocide strategy has to been seen in the context of the current official estimate of nearly 60,000 (15% of the actual rate estimated from IDF data).

Prime Minister Luxon: time for ethical political leadership

Particularly when put in the context of the core justification for the genocide, as so well enunciated by Zelda, it is time for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s government to provide ethics based political leadership. To date, its performance has ranged from limp to deplorable.

This leadership should include:

1. Recognising the Palestinian Territories as an official independent state.
2. Sanctioning IDF visitors.
3. Close the Israel Embassy
4. Trade and bilateral sanctions
5. Suspend Israel from the United Nations.

Genocide is genocide (no ifs or buts). It should be called out as such and acted upon. Ethically there is no option.

 

 

Ian Powell was Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, the professional union representing senior doctors and dentists in New Zealand, for over 30 years, until December 2019. He is now a health systems, labour market, and political commentator living in the small river estuary community of Otaihanga (the place by the tide). First published at Political Bytes