GAZA, (PIC)
With the number of martyrs in Gaza rising to nearly 45,000 due to the U.S.-backed Israeli aggression, the Israeli occupation army’s appetite for killing Palestinians in every possible way shows no signs of stopping. Even the hope of survival is denied to those escaping the ongoing massacre. Those who manage to evade bombing or detention are left to endure hunger and pain until their turn for targeting arrives.
The tight siege imposed by Israel on Gaza’s residents through strikes on markets, targeting agricultural lands, and cutting off grain supplies has persisted since the aggression began, all under the silent gaze of a world that does nothing to stop the slow death of the trapped people. The occupation army doesn’t stop at preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza but also directly and indirectly targets it.
It is not just the aid itself that is under attack even the teams responsible for securing it have become direct targets of Israeli airstrikes. Despite being the sole lifeline for those spared by Israel’s machinery of destruction, these teams face relentless attacks. In addition, the occupation army enables looting gangs to seize aid trucks, leaving Palestinians with nothing to sustain them. In such circumstances, direct death may seem more merciful than the slow death of starvation.
Early Thursday morning, 15 Palestinians were martyred, and 30 others were injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting aid security teams near Al-Akawik area on Al-Rashid Street, northwest of Rafah. These teams were protecting trucks carrying vital relief supplies such as flour and tents for displaced families.
Blocking aid routes
The Gaza Civil Defense issued a statement confirming that its crews evacuated the bodies of martyrs and the injured from two separate attacks: one on the coastal road in Rafah and another at the Al-Nasr intersection in Khan Yunis.
Incidents of aid trucks being hijacked by armed gangs shortly after entering Gaza have become frequent, prompting Hamas Movement to form a task force to confront these gangs. Hamas reported that Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 700 individuals tasked with securing aid trucks since the war began on October 7, 2023.
Amidst the martyrs from the Israeli bombings on aid security teams, a family arrived to search for their missing child, who had gone to collect flour and hadn’t returned. The mother whispered prayers, pleading for her child not to be among the deceased: “Oh God, please, not him… Have mercy on me; I am ill.” But when the shroud was pulled back to reveal her child’s face, she cried out, “My love, my heart, why did you go and leave me?”
Death by starvation
The tragedy of starvation endured by Gaza’s residents is not merely a natural consequence of war but a systematic policy of vengeance pursued by Israel. The means of killing vary—from airstrikes to cutting off all essentials of life, with starvation and the denial of humanitarian aid at the core.
Since the first day of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the intent to tighten the siege on civilians has been evident. This includes destroying food and water sources, bombing hospitals and denying them medical supplies, arresting medical teams, and banning construction materials that could rebuild destroyed homes.
Global calls to deliver aid to Gaza have been divided between sincere voices that are ignored and the false claims of Western countries that supply Israel with tools of death and destruction while pretending to care about delivering food aid without taking any meaningful action to achieve it.
Looting with Israeli backing
A report by 29 international NGOs revealed that the Israeli military “encourages the looting of humanitarian aid in Gaza by attacking Palestinian police forces, who are affiliated with Hamas and work to secure the aid.”
The report highlighted that the Israeli army not only fails to prevent aid truck hijackings but also allows armed gangs to extort humanitarian organizations. The Washington Post cited multiple sources confirming that organized gangs operate freely in areas under Israeli army control, stealing aid in Gaza.
The sources added that Israeli authorities have rejected most requests to implement measures for better protection of aid convoys in Gaza, as well as appeals to allow Hamas-affiliated civilian police to secure the trucks.
According to an internal UN memo referenced by the Washington Post, the looting gangs “benefit from the leniency—or even protection—of the Israeli military.” One gang leader reportedly established a military-like base in a zone controlled by the Israeli army.
A Strategy of deception
In a previous statement, the Palestinian government in Gaza revealed that the Israeli military practices deception by allowing the entry of very limited aid under international pressure while obstructing its distribution to Palestinians.
Ismail Al-Thawabteh, Director-General of the Government Media Office in Gaza, explained that Israel deliberately facilitates armed gangs in looting aid trucks and imposes levies on humanitarian organizations without intervening. He noted that the Israeli military’s actions, including blocking security teams from protecting aid trucks, reinforce the policy of deliberate starvation against Palestinians and ensure that aid enters Gaza without reaching those in need.
On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted two resolutions calling for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, the exchange of prisoners, and support for the mandate of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, which Israel targets.
However, the United States, Israel, and seven other countries voted against the resolution for a ceasefire, while 13 countries abstained.
