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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently appeared on the FULL SEND PODCAST to voice ‘concern’ of all things for women in Gaza. This baffling expression of concern came from the head of a government hell-bent on destroying Gaza and everyone in it.

“The women of Gaza are property, they’re nothing, they have no rights, they’re completely subjugated,” he claimed. “God forbid if they’re executed anytime they commit a so-called offence. I mean, it’s absurd,” he added.

He went on to criticise young people whom he believes have been “duped” into supporting Hamas under the guise of progressive values. “They say good is bad and bad is good,” ironically quoting the Bible, “Have they no eyes to see, no ears to hear?”

But Netanyahu seems to have forgotten that his government, the same government that now claims to care about the freedom of Palestinian women, has been called out for systematically denying those women access to safety, health, and basic dignity, often through policies and airstrikes that have taken thousands of lives.

According to UN data, women and children account for more than half of the over 59,000 Palestinian deaths recorded since October 7, 2023. And that’s a conservative estimate.

Earlier UN reporting put the proportion at nearly 70  per cent, with 2,036 women confirmed killed in the initial six months, alongside 3,588 children among the 8,119 civilian fatalities. Thousands of women are pregnant, with the UN estimating there are 50,000 to 55,000 expectant mothers across Gaza, according to the UNFPA. About 18,500 of them were forcibly displaced from Rafah alone.

Netanyahu’s remarks come at a time when Gaza remains under siege, with UN agencies and humanitarian groups decrying severe shortages of medicine, clean water, and food.

With over two-thirds of the health system nonfunctional — the WHO documented 686 health attacks in the Gaza Strip, with maternity services being provided at only eight partially functioning hospitals. Access to reproductive healthcare is nearly non-existent, and many have been displaced multiple times.

On X, users have responded to the interview with understandable disbelief and criticism.

“They’re oppressed… so we’re saving them by bombing them,” one user wrote.

“The women in Gaza are educated, doctors and nurses, lawyers, engineers, artists and teachers, as well as mothers, sisters, wives — the strongest women because they have to be,” posted another. “Trying to reduce them to oppressed women because they dress in hijab, modest clothing is disgusting.”

“Imagine claiming to care about the rights of women in Gaza while bombing their homes, starving their children, and denying them access to healthcare and safety. There is no feminism in occupation. You can’t liberate women by killing them,” another added.

“Just accuse others of what you’re guilty of is the official Zionist policy,” one user wrote.

The backlash wasn’t just about the hypocrisy, but also the erasure. Many pointed out that Palestinian women have long been at the frontlines of education, healthcare, art and resistance, and painting them solely as victims flattens their identity while ignoring their reality.

In another part of the interview, Netanyahu said, “The people who are oppressed by Hamas are seen as supporting Hamas. Why are they locked in? They should be allowed to leave. Give them the choice, the freedom, a life, a future.”

But Netanyahu’s statement is rather divorced from policy — and reality . Israel, alongside Egypt, has controlled Gaza’s borders for nearly two decades. The blockade has meant that for most Palestinians, especially women and children, “freedom” is not a choice. Leaving is not an option. Even aid trucks and medical convoys are facing restrictions.

This isn’t the first time Netanyahu has invoked the language of liberation while overseeing policies that amount to collective punishment. But as the siege on Gaza continues, and the civilian toll rises, many are calling out what they see as a disturbing attempt to reframe the narrative.

As one user put it plainly, “Have you no eyes to see the genocidal Israeli regime that has been, for 655 days, slaughtering and starving 2M Palestinians?”

Meanwhile, the blockade has triggered a catastrophic starvation crisis. The Gaza Health Ministry confirmed 101 deaths from hunger and malnutrition, 80 of them children and reported 46 additional hunger-related deaths in July alone, as families go days without food.

The WHO has characterised it as “man‑made mass starvation,” with estimates that nearly one-third of Gaza’s two million civilians endure days without food, and 10–20pc of pregnant women and young children suffer moderate to severe malnutrition.

Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while attempting to reach aid distribution points since May. Together with widespread displacement, the figures paint a grim reality: women are being stripped not just of housing and healthcare, but of basic rights to life, nourishment, and dignity.

Netanyahu’s portrayal of Gazan women as ‘subjugated’ — while ignoring the impact of Israeli airstrikes on those same women — strikes a nerve. It’s a contradiction that isn’t just a political ploy, it’s painfully inhuman.

You cannot speak of freeing women while taking away their ability to live. And you certainly cannot claim to stand for their rights while bombing their hospitals, starving their children, dismantling the very infrastructure they need to survive and killing them.