The Israeli government, from its head to its most junior member, refuses to admit that many of those who live in Gaza are civilian noncombatants and that about half of the Strip’s inhabitants are children. The public media debate in Israel also ignores this element of the situation in Gaza. After the death toll in the Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, passed the 32,000 mark, including over 12,000 children, the discourse remained indifferent; even the discussion of humanitarian aid focuses on Israeli interests, without considering the human element.
The amount of food that is currently entering Gaza is insufficient for human survival, Francesco Cecchi, a professor of epidemiology and international health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine told Haaretz (Neta Ahituv, Haaretz Hebrew edition, March 27). According to the United Nations, the entire population of the Gaza Strip, some 2.3 million people, is suffering from high levels of acute food insecurity, and about one in four is on the brink of famine.
There are an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in the Gaza Strip, who are at high risk. About 90 percent of them suffer from catastrophic food insecurity; the rate is similar among nursing mothers, according to a statement by the World Health Organization in November. In recent weeks, the Gaza Health Ministry has reported 27 deaths from malnutrition, 23 of them children. The situation is the worst in the northern Strip, where 15.6 percent of children under the age of 2 who were screened in shelters and health centers – one out of six – were found to be acutely malnourished.
The Israel Defense Forces allow humanitarian aid, medical equipment and food into the Strip, but according to international organizations the amounts are insufficient and distribution is disorganized; the aid does not get to everyone. The emerging data and the images that are beamed to the entire world of starving Gazan children, some of them massing at community kitchens for some hot soup for their family, are driving massive criticism of Israel from the international community.
To address the criticism, the government is promoting the establishment of a multinational force to secure the introduction of humanitarian aid to the Strip. Its role will be to temporarily guard the pier that the Biden administration is building off the coast of Gaza and the convoys of trucks transporting the aid within the Strip. The establishment of the multinational force has two goals: to weaken Hamas’ control so that its people will not be involved in aid distribution and to help Israel deal with the American pressure to expand the aid and improve the way it is delivered to residents.
One goal, however, was forgotten: The humanitarian aid is meant, first and foremost, to sustain Gaza’s civilian population in a humane manner. Currently, Israel is the occupying power in Gaza; according to international law, it must take care of the needs of the population under its control, including women, children, the elderly and the sick. This must not be forgotten.
The above article is Haaretz’s lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.
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Comments
7 responses to “Thou Shalt Not Starve Thy Neighbor”
It is difficult to find strong words of condemnation of the Genocides that Israel with the ongoing constant military assistance of Genocide Biden who are gradually killing thousands of women, children, and noncombatant civilians not only by shooting Palestinians at random but the cruel withholding of basic food supplies, drinking water, communication systems blockage, etc. Biden is the current war criminal under the command of Netanyahu and both of this
executioners show no signs of stopping the worst violations of multiple accords of civilized countries in matters of war conflicts. What is going to stop these 2 criminals? I don’t know.
Starving one’s neighbor is BEYOND THE PALE!!! I can’t believe the world is tolerating this as it occurs in broad daylight!!!
Much of the world isn’t exactly tolerating it. Yemen’s Ansar Allah have been actively deterring shipping to, from, or connected with Israel, and numerous governments have been taking steps to isolate Israel and get UN bodies to rule against it, while mass demonstrations against the genocide continue, including in countries where such demonstrations are all but banned.
As long as israel is able to continue its butcher job with impunity, little difference is it going to make how many millions are protesting or how many resolutions are passed. israel continues to give humanity ‘the finger’ and this must not be tolerated ANY LONGER.
Svay, your point is well taken! However, the fact remains that, despite the efforts around the world to stop the slaughter/starvation, it has gone on, unabated, for close to six months…that is far too long. And, with the latest bundle of goodies for Israel just approved by ole Genocide Joe, the carnage in Palestine will continue with no end in sight!
How much longer is the Anglo/Saxon ‘white’ world going to stand by and watch israel do its butcher job? And get away with it?
When it comes right down to it, the concept of “American Interests” amounts to the commitment to continue to consume at least 5 times the world average, and to pollute proportionately. Americans can clearly see that this requires them to continue to steal from the poorer nations, and where those object to their starvation, to war