The Weaponization of Resilience and the Media's Familiar Script
THE CLAIM: Gaza’s elderly are keeping hope and resilience alive, a testament to the Palestinian spirit. The New Arab's article highlights the steadfastness of Gaza's elderly population amidst unimaginable destruction, noting that 'Israel’s genocidal war left around 85 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure in ruins, killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, and injured nearly 200,000.' These
individuals, having endured multiple displacements and conflicts, are presented as beacons of hope, passing down stories of resilience. THE EVIDENCE: What does the public record actually show? The article’s figures on casualties and damage align with reports from international bodies, albeit with some variances depending on the reporting agency. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) reported in late 2024 that 75% of Gaza's infrastructure was destroyed or damaged. The cited casualty figures, particularly the '72,000 killed' and '200,000 injured,' appear to be projections from specific methodologies, such as the Lancet's epidemiological modeling, which estimated in 2024 that the death toll was far higher than initially reported by local health ministries,
accounting for indirect deaths and unrecorded bodies. It’s a macabre numbers game, where even 'conservative' estimates are astronomical. Historically, the narrative of 'resilience' in the face of brutal occupation is woven deep into Palestinian identity, dating back to the 1948 Nakba, where over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes and 500+ villages destroyed. This wasn't a choice;