Insufficient aid deepening crisis in Gaza

In a recent move aimed at addressing the escalating humanitarian crisis, Israel has announced the entry of over 300 aid trucks into Gaza, marking the highest volume since the beginning of the assault on the besieged territory six months ago. [1]

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Apartheid state callously dragging its heels Analysis Also read

Despite this seemingly substantial delivery, it still falls significantly short of the minimum requirement outlined by the United Nations to adequately ward off the starvation of millions of Palestinians. [1]

Hisham Adwan, a spokesperson for the authority managing the Rafah crossing, said,

“The Strip is suffering from major famine, especially in the northern regions and Gaza City. The south is also suffering from a major humanitarian catastrophe. Therefore, bringing aid in this daily manner is not sufficient.” [1]

Apartheid state callously dragging its heels

It has taken over a month for the Zionist state to move on this disastrous aid situation.

In early March, Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at the World Food Programme (WFP), told Reuters,

“I would say that we need to double the level we have now. We are now at around 150 trucks. We need a minimum of 300 trucks a day coming in.” [2]

And according to monitoring by Al Jazeera reporter Tarek Abu Azzoum, not a single aid truck that came through the Rafah crossing has been allowed to travel up to the northern part of Gaza, where famine has already set in or is extremely close, as assessed by the UN and other bodies. [3]

Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera (American Near East Refugee Aid), said of the recent increase in daily aid,

“To make up ground to meet the extreme gaps in food and other essentials for living, we need to see more than 500 trucks a day.

“The real issue is, who is going to deliver all these aid.” [1]

Amid Israel’s baseless assertions of accelerating aid transfer and distribution, Carroll also highlighted the challenges faced by humanitarian workers — particularly in the wake of recent deadly incidents such as the 1 April World Central Kitchen convoy massacre — which have left them apprehensive about operating in Gaza. [1]

Analysis

ANALYSIS

Fadlur Rahman

Imam, Northwich Muslim Cultural Centre

Starvation as a weapon of war

Let's be clear: Israel is employing starvation and aid restrictions as weapons of war, precipitating famine across the entire population of Gaza.

As of 1 April, Gaza's Health Ministry reported that 32 people, including 28 children, had died from malnutrition and dehydration in hospitals in Northern Gaza.

On 2 April, Save the Children confirmed the deaths of 27 children due to starvation and disease.

Earlier in March, World Health Organization (WHO) officials witnessed 'children dying of starvation' in Kamal Adwan and al-Awda hospitals in Northern Gaza.

In Southern Gaza, where aid is somewhat more accessible but still grossly inadequate, UN agencies reported in mid-February that five per cent of children under the age of two were acutely malnourished.

Crimes of the worst possible kind

This deliberate push to starve an entire population constitutes a war crime of the highest order, akin to the most brutal ethnic cleansing in modern history.

Access to humanitarian aid and basic services in Gaza has been deliberately curtailed. Israel has bombarded and starved the innocent people of the region without remorse. Even babies and children have not been spared from the sadistic policies of the Israeli authorities.

The Zionist state has shown total disregard for international law and the International Court of Justice's rulings, as evidenced by its response to the genocide hearing led by South Africa.

Clearly, international law does not apply to the people of Gaza, nor has it ever been enforced for the Muslim world!

History will pass judgment on those who did not act

While unfortunate that the governments of many Arab and Muslim states have made a mockery of Islamic unity, they deserve no sympathy for their political impotence.

However, the world has borne witness, and history will pass judgment accordingly.

Western and Eastern governments have witnessed a genocide while claiming to negotiate peace.

Allah (subḥānahu wa ta'āla) has spoken the truth, He says in Surat al-Baqarah,

'And when they are told, 'Do not cause corruption on the Earth', they say, 'We are but reformers.''