Human Sacrifice, Not Human Shields: Col. Richard Kemp on How Hamas Fights in Gaza

Colonel Richard Kemp commanded British forces in Afghanistan and worked on counterterrorism at the Cabinet Office. In Kabul, he once had to order an attack on an al-Qaeda cell hiding in a civilian neighborhood, knowing civilians could die. That's the vantage point he brings to the charge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Genocide is a crime of intent, not a crime of scale. So what would it look like if the IDF were actually trying? Kemp walks through what the law of armed conflict says about hospitals and human shields, and why he calls Hamas's strategy "human sacrifice." He describes sitting in an IDF planning meeting inside Gaza before a strike, and tells the story of an Israeli pilot who flew sortie after sortie and finally abandoned an attack because too many civilians were nearby. He also takes on the numbers, starvation, the ceasefire, and where the IDF could have done better. He's not a neutral party. But he has stood where the people being accused stand. CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open & introducing Col. Richard Kemp 3:01 The order he had to give in Kabul 9:32 Split-second decisions and the mistakes every army makes 14:45 "War criminal" and "genocide": what gets lost 18:26 If Gaza is a genocide, which war isn't? 24:33 What would it look like if the IDF were trying? 26:22 Human shields and who the law holds responsible 32:06 Why he calls it "human sacrifice" 33:43 Inside an IDF strike planning meeting in Gaza 42:13 The civilian-to-combatant numbers 48:57 Starvation, aid and the ICC 52:41 What a ceasefire actually means 55:26 How do you fight jihadists? 1:06:04 Where could the IDF have done better? 1:11:09 One question for anyone convinced it's genocide 🌐 Colonel Richard Kemp: https://richard-kemp.com/ 📰 His writing at Gatestone Institute: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/author/Richard+Kemp 📰 His writing at JNS: https://www.jns.org/author/richard-kemp ▶️ Related episodes: Did Israel Go Too Far in Gaza? Elliot Kaufman on What Really Happened Inside Israel's War Room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_P2DaWd9aM The Lawfare War Against Israel: Natasha Hausdorff Explains Why the West is Next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTfUIEXTSiE Apartheid, Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity: Hillel Neuer on Who Wrote the Charges Against Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWxKh6I7wdA 🎧 Listen: https://podcast.honestreporting.com ▶️ Full playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLuF-lEHTGTw_RrfN9EP6pdWhgjMX7Fg5 Subscribe for new episodes every week. Follow HonestReporting on Instagram, X, TikTok, and Facebook. [13/10/2026, 15:04:42] Talia: I see one video file in the Kemp file, but it's titled "Working" -- want to make sure it's the final cut?