It’s no news that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has exacerbated the deplorable situation at the Gaza strip and calls for aid and for Israel to open crossing have increased in recent days.
Ironically, those calling and making efforts for humanitarian aid are suppliers of weaponry that Palestinians are being attacked with.
In actuality, the weapons “paid” to Israel is robbing Gaza of its people, structures and of its existence even.
While some countries have suspended arms exports to Israel in light of its war on Gaza, some significant suppliers remain.
In his recent State of the Union address, U.S President Joe Biden announced the creation of a maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza.
Meanwhile, the US’s annual contribution of about $3.8bn to Israel’s military budget has continued
Akshaya Kumar, Director of crisis advocacy at Human Rights Watch (HRW), rightly puts it, “On the one hand, we have this dire humanitarian need, on the other hand, we have this continual supply of weapons to the country Israel, [which is] creating that need.”
“Western states have recently been going to great lengths to have Israel recognise its role in creating the suffering we’re seeing in Gaza. We’re not seeing any corresponding reduction in the flow of weapons from states such as the US, Germany and beyond.”
Akshaya Kumar
According to a UN-backed report, northern Gaza could be hit by famine any time between mid-March and May and more than 70 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is facing “catastrophic hunger.”
Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur for the right to food, urged the United States to do more to end the ongoing hunger and starvation crisis in Gaza.
“If the U.S was very serious about preventing famine, it would pressure Israel for a ceasefire. It would no longer supply weapons and financial support to Israel,” he stated.
He added, “The United States is complicit in this starvation of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Fakhri opined that U.S airdrops and plans to build a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza were largely a political move.
“It might alleviate hunger for a small number of people and for a very short amount of time but in the grand scheme of things, these are political performances done for political purposes.”
Michael Fakhri
Adele Khodr, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa, noted, “The world’s inaction is shocking as more children succumb to a slow death.”
“All border crossings must open now to allow unfettered access of humanitarian aid,” Khodr added.
Rift Over Rafah Intensifies
U.S National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, announced an Israeli visit to Washington to discuss Gaza and talk about alternatives to attacking Rafah.
This came after a phone call between Joe Biden and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, focusing on the planned Rafah assault that Netanyahu has vowed to launch.
Sullivan restated US opposition to the planned Rafah offensive, pointing out that more than a million Palestinians had taken refuge in the southernmost Gazan town having fled other cities ruined by Israeli bombing.
“Israel has not presented us or the world with a plan for how or where they would safely move those civilians, let alone feed and house them and ensure access to basic things like sanitation,” Sullivan said.
He also pointed out Rafah was the main entry point for the small amount of aid reaching Gaza, and it could seriously affect Israeli relations with Egypt, on the other side of the border.
Sullivan described the Biden-Netanyahu call, their first in over a month, as “businesslike.”
“The President has rejected and did again today, the straw man that raising questions about Rafah is the same as raising questions about defeating Hamas. That’s just nonsense,” he said.
Sullivan admitted that Israel had made military gains against Hamas but said, “A major ground operation [in Rafah] would be a mistake.”
He added, “It would lead to more innocent civilian deaths, worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen the anarchy in Gaza, and further isolate Israel internationally.”
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