Food & Climate
Hunger in Gaza is besieging children and adults, claiming their lives. No one can break the siege, soon or later, due to unconditional American support for Israel. Feeling helpless, young people have launched calls on social media to send food to the residents of the Strip in plastic bottles by sea, hoping it will reach them.
This call, under the slogan: “Break the siege, even with a bottle. It’s not a solution, but it’s better than nothing”.
The call was extended to young people in Arab countries in North Africa, and it appears that the first response came from Egypt, where a video went viral of a young man throwing these bottles into the sea, praying that they would reach the victims of hunger in Gaza.
This is due to Israel’s failure to respond to all attempts to deliver food shipments to the Strip, whether from countries or international organizations, to the point that news of those struggling to die of starvation has overshadowed news of those killed by Tel Aviv’s weapons.
A Facebook account named Khadija Rahimi17, said: “Yesterday, I saw a post by one of our brothers in Gaza saying, ‘Throw food bottles into the sea, because they might reach us.’ I saw that there is a possibility of breaking the Gaza blockade safely, without us having to move”.
He added: “To the residents of the coasts of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco: The idea is to throw a kilogram of rice, lentils, or any type of legume into the sea. It will reach Gaza, thanks to God’s grace and the strong surface currents that push it toward the eastern coasts. There is a strong chance it will reach Gaza.”
111 humanitarian organizations call for lifting the blockade
Because of hunger in Gaza, a statement signed by 111 humanitarian organizations, including Caritas Internationalis, has denounced the Israeli government’s “siege” of Gaza, and urges governments to act to open all land crossings; restore the flow of food, water, medicine, shelter items, and fuel into Gaza “through a principled, UN-led mechanism”; end the siege; and agree to an immediate ceasefire.
The organizations note the almost daily “massacres” at food distribution sites in Gaza, citing UN confirmation that 875 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food, and thousands of others have been injured. It says more than two million Palestinians have been displaced with the latest Israeli displacement order and highlights the warning from the World Food Program that current conditions make operations “untenable.”
The statement goes on to declare bluntly: “The starvation of civilians is a war crime.”
Aid organizations say that in warehouses outside Gaza, and even within the territory itself, there are tons of supplies that could be used to assist civilians, but humanitarian agencies have been blocked from accessing or delivering them.
“The Government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the statement reads, adding, “the UN-led humanitarian system has not failed, it has been prevented from functioning.”
Despite promises from the EU and Israel, the statement says, “these promises ring hollow when there is no real change on the ground.”
“It is time to take decisive action,” the humanitarian organizations say, as they call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire; the lifting of bureaucratic restrictions, the opening of land crossings; and the assurance of access to everyone in Gaza.
Denouncing “piecemeal arrangements and symbolic gestures” as “smokescreens” for inaction, the organizations conclude their declaration by insisting, “States can and must save lives before there are none left to save”, according to “Vatican News“
News outlets warn from hunger in Gaza affects their journalists
Agencies France-Persse (AFP), the Associated Press, BBC News and Reuters said they were “desperately concerned” about the journalists in Gaza after widespread warnings of mass starvation.
With international reporters barred by Israel from entering the strip, Palestinian journalists have been the only ones able to report from the ground in the war zone.
“We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families,” the news outlets said in a rare joint statement.
“For many months, these independent journalists have been the world’s eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering.
“Journalists endure many deprivations and hardships in war zones. We are deeply alarmed that the threat of starvation is now one of them. We once again urge the Israeli authorities to allow journalists in and out of Gaza. It is essential that adequate food supplies reach the people there.”
Freelance journalists working for international outlets have warned that hunger and a lack of clean water were leading to illness and exhaustion.
A group of journalists working at AFP said this week that “without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die”.
The Society of Journalists at AFP said: “We have lost journalists in conflicts: some have been injured; others taken prisoner. But none of us can ever remember seeing colleagues die of hunger.”
A photographer working for AFP sent a message on social media at the weekend stating: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore”, according to “BBC“.