[Salon] Haaretz editorial: "Israel Must Increase Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Civilians."

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/2023-12-31/ty-article-opinion/israel-must-increase-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-civilians/0000018c-bc6b-db94-afbd-bc7b38550000 Israel Must Increase Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Civilians Haaretz EditorialDec 31, 2023 Israeli media is largely hiding from the public the extent of the destruction, death and humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip as a result of the war. What little information manages to penetrate the mainstream media's obscuring wall comes from foreign sources, or, through social media, from people suspected of bias in favor of the enemy, or from international organizations presented in Israel as biased against Israel. Thus, even when the public is exposed to information about what is happening in Gaza, its veracity is questioned, or it is seen as anti-Israel propaganda. The fact that Israelis do not know or do not want to know about the unprecedented humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip will not exempt them in the future, when they are exposed to its dimensions, from guilt or possibly from international law. Supporting a war and identifying with its goals do not require accepting harm to the civilian population of the kind happening in Gaza. A just war does not excuse bringing about a humanitarian disaster of the magnitude that is taking place in Gaza. According to the UN's World Food Programe, about half of Gaza's population is in a state of severe or extreme hunger. Ninety percent of Gaza's more than two million residents are going a whole day without food, often. The World Food Programme's chief economist Arif Husain said: "I have never seen something at the scale that is happening in Gaza. And at this speed." According to UNICEF, many children are in mortal danger due to malnutrition and disease spread. No water, no food, no medicine, no infrastructure. It can be assumed, and the testimonies of the returned hostages confirm, that the 129 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are also affected by the harsh humanitarian situation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is allowing the passage of humanitarian aid shipments to the Gaza Strip, some through the Kerem Shalom crossing. But he only does so under American pressure. If it were not for this pressure, the government, which depends on extremists for its survival, would prefer to reduce humanitarian aid to the Gazan population as leverage over Hamas. The aid provided is the price Israel is forced to pay in return for ongoing American support for continuation of the war, including undermining a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The problem is that even that aid which Israel allows into the Gaza Strip is far from enough. The 190 trucks that enter Gaza daily with Israel's approval provide only about 10 percent of the needs of Gazans. Last week, at the request of the United States, Israel began discussing developing a mechanism to introduce Israeli humanitarian aid. This is an important and appropriate move. The ministers from the government's extreme right – according to whom there are no uninvolved people in Gaza and everyone, including children and babies, are Hamas – should not be allowed to torpedo this move. The above article is Haaretz's lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.