In another flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement, Israel has blocked all entry of food and other life-sustaining goods. Israel has a history of repeatedly terrorising Palestinians during the holy month of Ramadan. This latest abject choice is the latest in Israel’s genocide.
The United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported:
Israeli authorities announced a halt to humanitarian aid entering Gaza, jeopardizing progress made in delivering vital, lifesaving assistance since the ceasefire took effect.
OCHA found only a “slight” improvement in “dietary diversity” in the Gaza Strip following the beginning of the ceasefire agreement. They also found that in the Gaza Strip:
over 3,000 children and 1,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women have been referred for acute malnutrition treatment.
Israel’s decision to stop aid coming into Palestine is nothing less than catastrophic.
Israel: starvation as a weapon of war
Tom Fletcher, a UN official responsible for emergency relief coordination said:
Israel’s decision to halt aid into Gaza is alarming. International humanitarian law is clear: We must be allowed access to deliver vital lifesaving aid.
With the large-scale destruction of homes, many Palestinians are reliant on community kitchens, who are in turn supplied via food aid. OCHA explained:
According to the Food Security Sector (FSS), if the disruption to aid entry continues, at least 80 community kitchens may soon run out of stock. Among the kitchens that remain operational, some will need to start to adjust meal content or reduce the number of meals prepared to cope with anticipated shortages. Additionally, FSS partners would be forced to reduce food rations.
The already fragile situation is on the verge of complete collapse:
While the distribution of previously dispatched food parcels is ongoing, these remaining supplies, which will support 500,000 people, will soon run out.
The immediate need for much more food aid is clear. However, OCHA explained that by refusing to allow in any kind of aid whatsoever, Israel is further compromising the capacity of Palestinians to recover any kind of food infrastructure:
By providing the necessary resources to small-scale farmers, livestock herders and other agri-food actors, FSS partners aim to enhance access to a diverse and highly nutritious diet, including fresh milk, meat and vegetables.
This means animal feed, seed kits, fertilisers, and other tools necessary for food growth are also not allowed in.
War crime
Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians. They are also ensuring that whatever small capacity Palestinians may gain to be able to sustain themselves is also eradicated. The decision to stop all aid entering Palestine is yet another genocidal decision from Israel.
Oxfam had sharp criticism for Israel:
Israel’s decision, to block aid to over two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as Ramadan begins, is a reckless act of collective punishment, explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law. The Government of Israel, as occupying power has the responsibility to ensure that humanitarian aid can reach the population in Gaza.
They continued:
When our teams assessed the conditions in Gaza in the wake of the January 19th announcement of a temporary ceasefire, they encountered apocalyptic scenes of complete destruction and famine-like conditions.
Children’s charity UNICEF have also warned that if Israel continues to block aid, more children will die. Whilst food is a major concern, other items are necessary for people to stay alive:
Despite the increase in humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, conditions for children remain extremely dire. Seven newborn babies reportedly died from hypothermia over the past week because they lacked access to sufficiently warm clothes and blankets, shelter, or medical care. These preventable deaths are heartbreaking and serve as a stark reminder that more aid is desperately needed.
Israeli impunity
It couldn’t be clearer: after over a year of committing atrocity after atrocity, Israel is continuing its attempted ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Halting all aid during the month of Ramadan is a purposeful affront to fasting Muslims. If Israel is allowed to halt all types of aid, many many more Palestinians will die.
As ever, the BBC have managed to wrangle up some coverage of this story. Their word choice stands in stark contrast, however, to those who have actually been on the ground. The BBC reported:
Thousands of aid trucks had surged into Gaza each week under the ceasefire deal that started on 19 January.
This sentence is buried in a broader report about food shortages, but the use of the word “surged” is a curious choice. Oxfam who, it bears repeating, have assessed the situation in Palestine themselves, said:
People in Gaza are in need of everything: lifesaving water, food, sanitation and other necessities, as well as equipment critically needed for restoration of water and electricity. The goods that were able to enter during the weeks of ceasefire have brought some relief, but remain a drop in the ocean.
While “thousands” may sound like a lot in isolation, to say nothing of the imagery “surged” conjures up, the aid entering Gaza has been like throwing a thimble of water on a raging fire. To now stop that aid coming in at all is a death sentence for many more thousands of Palestinians.
It’s really come to something when Oxfam has more radical politics than the BBC.
Featured image via the Canary
