Write a commentIn April 2024, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) concluded "that Israel had deliberately blocked deliveries of food and medicine into Gaza."
Yet, in May 2024, Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to Congress and lied about it.
Despite the fact, as ProPublica reported, USAID "delivered its assessment to Secretary of State Antony Blinken... in late April." Days before Blinken lied, the head of the United Nations World Food Program said Northern Gaza was in a "full-blown famine."
A year later, the State Department spokesperson, Thomas Pigott, denied the "characterization of Israel weaponizing aid." Pigott blamed Hamas for "weaponizing aid." Even though the U.S. Agency for International Development, "found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies." The New York Times reported that "the Israeli military never found proof that the Palestinian militant group had systematically stolen aid from the United Nations... according to two senior Israeli military officials."
The Israeli news outlet Haaretz was clear: "Gaza is starving, and Israel is responsible." Haaretz wrote, "The famine that has been created is another facet of Israel's cruel inhumanity towards the people of Gaza." Israeli reporter Nir Hasson said, "43 people died since the beginning of the week because Israel starved them." Hasson continued, "For Israeli decision-makers, starvation of the Gaza Strip was in the cards from day one."
Likud lawmaker Moshe Saada declared, "Anyone who says that 'I won't starve Gazans' is confused. I will starve Gazans, yes, yes – it is our duty." Reserve Major General Yair Golan told the Israeli press that "We should tell them: listen, until they're [the hostages] released, from our side you will starve to death. This is completely legitimate." Prime Minister Netanyahu stated, "We will not allow humanitarian assistance in the form of food and medicines from our territory to the Gaza Strip." On 9 October 2023, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, "There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel. Everything is closed."
The consequences of these policies are predictable. Doctors Without Borders wrote, "What is happening in Gaza is the deliberate starvation of people, manufactured by the Israeli authorities... What we are seeing is unconscionable; an entire people being deliberately cut off from food and water, all while the Israeli forces commit daily massacres."
The United Nations Children's Fund said, "Children in the Gaza Strip are starving to death." The Times wrote, "The Hollow-eyed, skeletal children languish on hospital beds or are cared for by parents, who gaze helplessly at protruding ribs and shoulder blades, and emaciated limbs resembling brittle sticks."
The Financial Times reported, "Malnourished mothers can no longer produce milk to breastfeed their children." The World Food Programme wrote, "Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment. Nearly one person in three is not eating for days."
Israel is not alone. The US is also responsible for a deliberate mass starvation in Gaza. US taxpayers foot the bill.
