Coining the language of war - Opinion - Al-Ahram Weekly ahram.org.eg - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ahram.org.eg Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials have referred to Hamas militants as "the new Nazis." But as horrific as the Oct. 7 massacre was, what does it really mean to make such a comparison 80 years after the Holocaust? And how can we rightly describe what's happening in Gaza?
The Israeli military says its ground forces are now fighting in “the depths” of Gaza City, which suggests they have entered the tunnel system Hamas operates from.
Words to describe acts of killing such as homicide, infanticide and suicide entered English from the 13th century onwards. Genocide, with similar Latin, as well as Greek, roots was coined much later.