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The UN agency on relief in Palestine (UNRWA) had warned more than a year back that given the total embargo imposed by the Israeli authorities since October 7, 2023 on the entry of trucks carrying foods, medicines and fuel for use of the 2.2 million people of Gaza, there was a serious risk of malnourishment and hunger affecting them in the near future. At the time a trickle of trucks numbering 20 to 50 made it across the Rafah border intermittently as against 500 trucks daily before the restriction. The timeline of entry and distribution of food in Gaza since October 2023 is as follows:
From 7 October, 2023 to November a total of 100 trucks managed to enter Gaza, meeting the needs of 30,000 of the population. The ceasefire agreement in late November gave a humanitarian pause, allowing 61 trucks to northern Gaza and 187 trucks to the south through Nitzana border crossing. Taken together, convoy of food- carrying trucks in November was the biggest since the imposition of embargo. This spurt in the delivery of food relief was helped by the opening of a second entry point at Karem Shalem that enabled doubling the number of aid-carrying trucks entering Gaza. When the ceasefire ended, food distribution reverted to status quo ante, becoming a trickle. The famine monitoring agency, Integrated Food poverty Phase Classification (IPC) that have UN bodies FAO, WFP and European Council and others as members, warned in December, 2023 that hundred per cent of the population of Gaza faced hunger crisis and nearly 576,600 faced catastrophic hunger, an early stage of famine.
During the period January to March, 2024 about 100 trucks carrying food entered Gaza, which included the first convoy of the World Food Programme. In the month of March, America and a few other countries began random air droppings of food which caused chaos due to scrambling among food seekers and a few deaths occurred because of stampede. About the same time America declared the construction of a pier in Gaza coast for a flotilla of food carrying ships from donor countries. After a few ships docked at the pier and delivered food packets the venture was wound up abruptly. Both the airdropping and the ' Flotilla' of food aid ships appears to be casual, even whimsical exercises at appearing to be humane.
By late December, 2024 only 34 trucks entered north Gaza over a period of two and a half months. But food distribution took place for only 12 of these trucks due to bombing of distribution sites by Israeli air force. At the time experts warned of 'acute risk' of famine in Northern Gaza.
January-March (2024) period saw a second ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. The WFP began bringing daily trucks of food through Zikim and Karem Shalom entry points, aiming for 150 trucks daily. By the end of February, some 78,000 metric tons of food were brought into Gaza, easing the food scarcity somewhat. But by March 2, Israel imposed another complete aid delivery freeze and UN officials again warned of looming hunger catastrophe, calling Israeli restrictions as tantamount to 'weaponising' food distribution.
On May 13, UN Humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher openly accused Israel of deliberately blocking food aid. The UN estimated that 25 per cent of Gaza population faced imminent famine at that point of time.
Facing international criticism, America and Israel jointly opened a food distribution system in May this year outside of the UN designated agencies, like UNRAW and WFP. The American-based NGO, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that is responsible for this, has used only two sites for distribution, causing chaos and stampede by people seeking food. Ostensibly to control crowd, Israeli army and American security guards of GHF have opened fire that has killed daily a minimum of 50 hungry Palestinians scrambling for food. As of now a total of 800 (according to some source 1000) hungry Palestinians have been killed at food distribution sites of GHF which have been termed as 'death traps' by both UN officials and humanitarian relief agencies. This is in addition to the daily killings of over 100 Palestinians in recent days by Israeli defence force (IDF) all over the Gaza strip.
The IDF has now launched a ground offensive in central Gaza, at Deir al Bala, from air and land and have asked Palestinians from the area to move south near Rafah. Earlier, Palestinians in Northern Gaza were also asked to move to the south. This was preceded by an announcement by the Israeli defence minister that a 'humanitarian zone ' would be set up in Rafah for 'safe' living of Palestinians. Aid agencies and human rights groups promptly described this proposed 'shelter' as a 'concentration camp' meant for ultimate cleaning out of the Palestinians, leaving the Gaza strip to be developed in to a Mediterranean Riviera. Donald Trump, whose brainchild this real estate development is, must be salivating at the prospect.
So long the list of the dead Palestinians totalling over 60,000 included those killed by bombs, artillery shells and firings by IDF soldiers. Now, their ranks are being added by Palestinians dying of starvation, mostly children. Famine is stalking the length and breadth of Gaza strip now, as has been foretold by many over the past twenty two months. The time gap between those warnings and actual deaths caused by starvation is because famine claims its victims insidiously, at first devouring fat, then muscles and finally bones. Famine is a patient killer and gives ample notice to victims of its advent, affliction and finally, annihilation. It is not cruel and heartless because it gives enough time to victims to fend it off on their own or with the help of their better-off relations, friends and well wishers. If the victims don't have any of them to tide over the crisis, it is their tough luck, famine will sigh. Other than giving early warning, what else can it do? It has to live up to its bad reputation as a grim reaper, mutatis mutandis, when 'other things' for the victims remain the same. The 'other things' here denote the outside world who have the power to prevent the Palestinians wasting away-- their gradual emaciation resulting in bodies of skin and bones.
For the first time in human history, nay in the much vaunted annals of civilisation, a famine has taken place in slow motion according to a meticulous design by humans, as in a war plan. Perhaps the analogy to a war plan is erroneous because there was no secrecy about the intent of Israeli leaders to kill Palestinians in Gaza by bombs, bullets and last (very apt!) but not the least, by starvation. At the start of the war of retaliation by Israel in October, 2023 the then Israeli defence minister declared that supplies of food, water and electricity would be cut off to teach the Palestinian 'animals' a lesson. Reinforcing this statement, prime minister Netanyahu invoked the psalms in Old Testament and emphasised on the duty of Israelites to blot out the Amalek tribe, their arch enemy. Read Palestinians for Amlek and the old script is de-coded.
Soon after these utterances from top members of Israeli government, the blue print of genocide in Gaza became obvious to all, the oil-rich Arab neighbours of the hapless Palestinians, the civilised Europeans and the superpower America. All that they had to do was to draw the red line to what Israel could do and not do. But they either condoned what Israel was doing with the misplaced idea of Israel's 'right to defend' itself or remained silent. The indifference of the Arab countries to the sufferings of Palestinians is contemptible, given their collective power. But it is understandable, given their anxiety to save their thrones of power with the help of America, the closest ally of Israel. But one fails to understand the insouciance of the European countries, the seat of renaissance and enlightenment. One can understand the gross self-interest of American leaders and the legacy of their wild west culture, steeped in self-aggrandisement and racial hatred for the insensitivity to the suffering of the Palestinians.
But the inheritors of the 'old world', the Europeans, how could they turn their eyes away from such a case of gross injustice, blatant violation of human rights, wanton killings of innocent men, women and children in a one-sided war and now by starvation? Where is their declaration of bravado, ' never again', made after the end of the second world war that bound them in a pledge to prevent massacres of people based on hatred? A new Holocaust has unfolded right before their eyes, in slow motion and live streamed, too, daily and in at least one television channel (Al Jazeera), every hour. This is unprecedented, as never before mass killings of men, women and children have been shown regularly in television like TV serials. One is not so much surprised by the inhumane, self- serving policy of America as one is dismayed with the cold shouldering of the Gaza tragedy by Europeans.
At long last, after twenty two months, foreign ministers of twenty one countries of Europe and four other developed countries (Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand) met on July 20 and condemned, firstly, the 'drip feed food aid' of Israel that deprives the Palestinians of their dignity and secondly, the killings of Palestinians at food distribution sites. The lives of Palestinians are so unimportant that their case did not merit a declaration of condemnation by heads of governments. To assuage the anticipated indignation of Israeli government these countries had to sanitise the condemnation by degrading the level of censure. The focus of the joint statement was assiduously confined to food distribution and violation of dignity and killings associated with it. No reference was made to the frequent evacuation orders displacing the Palestinians and to the destruction of their homes, educational institutions, roads, markets and hospitals, blurring the line between life and death. Questioning the disproportionate number of deaths of over 60,000 Palestinians men, women and children remained beyond the pale, lest it raised the hackles of the Israeli government. It is not difficult to realise that the foreign ministers of 25 countries had to tread carefully according the script choreographed for them by people skilled in diplomats, skirting sensitive issues. It has been a public relations exercise par excellence. But the disconnect between the rhetoric of the joint statement and the stark reality prevailing is so glaring that one wonders if it is not an immature case of window dressing.
The foreign ministers of 25 countries are oblivious of the fact that it is no longer a case of dignity for the Palestinians when death through starvation and imminent obliteration through deportation has become a reality for them. They fail to realise (rather, find it convenient to realise) that given the grim situation prevailing in Gaza now and the diabolical plan of the deranged leaders of Israel, mere condemnation is not going to make any difference.
It is too little, too late, the statement of 25 foreign ministers. Famine has started taking its toll. Till 22 July, 101 Palestinians died of starvation, according to UN agencies. On 23, July 15 more died of the same cause, including a six weeks old baby. The number will go on increasing as many crossed the threshold of hunger many days back and are now in the last phase of famine. The lives of many who are not yet in this final phase can be saved if the UN agencies are allowed to bring in the thousands of food carrying trucks waiting near the border into Gaza and distribute food according to established procedure. For this, time is of the essence.
Only actions, not words that threaten Israel economically and politically can stop the coldly calculated obliteration of a nation from their homeland. Can the 25 countries muster their moral courage and tell Israel, ' this far and no further'?