IDF’s “Top Songs 2024” Playlist Provokes Criticism Amid Ongoing Gaza Conflict

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have come under fire for releasing a Spotify Wrapped-inspired list that details their 2024 “operational accomplishments.” The IDF’s post, which mimics the popular Spotify feature that showcases users’ top songs and listening habits, reinterprets the format to highlight the killings of prominent figures such as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar.

In their “Wrapped,” shared on social media platform X, the IDF presented a public playlist titled “Your Top Songs 2024,” featuring entries that resemble song titles. Notable tracks included “Dead,” referring to the elimination of Nasrallah, and “Dead Pt. II,” referencing Sinwar. Other entries, such as “365,” inspired by Charli XCX’s recent hit, emphasized a year of “protecting our civilians.”

One entry stated, “19,000+ Terrorists Eliminated,” accompanied by the mock album title “Bye Bye Bye,” a nod to the NSYNC song. The post also included fictitious albums like “Dead Hezbollah Terrorists” and “Dead Hamas Terrorists.” The IDF captioned the post, “Thought we would share our year, wrapped.”

Internet reacted strongly against the IDF’s Spotify Wrapped-inspired recap

However, the internet reacted strongly against the IDF’s Spotify Wrapped-inspired recap. Social media users quickly began sharing their versions of Wrapped, using the viral template to highlight what they described as Israel’s war crimes. One user commented, “Don’t be shy, post your real one,” detailing alleged atrocities such as the killing of over 100,000 people in Gaza and the destruction of essential infrastructure.

News website Mondoweiss also created a version of the Spotify Wrapped-inspired list, titled “Israel’s Genocide Wrapped,” which included stark statistics about the ongoing conflict. This version highlighted the deaths of over 200,000 Palestinians, the displacement of more than 1.5 million, and over 20,000 children still missing in Gaza. It also noted that more than 105,000 Palestinians have been injured and over 10,000 imprisoned.

Critics condemned the IDF’s post, with one social media user stating, “Turning death and destruction into a Spotify Wrapped parody? This is grotesque on a whole new level. Celebrating violence like it’s a greatest hits album only highlights how far humanity has been stripped out of this conflict. War crimes as ‘accomplishments’? Shameful.”

As the IDF continues its military operations in Gaza, particularly in the northern regions, a massive evacuation is underway in Beit Lahia, with over 10,000 people forced to leave in the last 24 hours.

On Wednesday, Human Rights Group Amnesty International released a report accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The organization stated that the Israeli Defence Forces have committed at least three of the five acts prohibited by the 1948 Genocide Convention. The report highlighted indiscriminate killings of civilians, serious bodily or mental harm, and the deliberate infliction of conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza.

“Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International.