Children die of starvation and Israel stops aid

UNRWA

Children die of starvation and Israel stops aid 

It is no longer a war against Hamas

Ingvar Persson

Aftonbladet's editorial page is independent social democratic.

Published 4:00 p.m

Quick version

• Gaza experiences enormous suffering, especially during Ramadan. Support is desperately needed from the UN's organization for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. But Israel has stopped UN aid shipments to northern Gaza.
• The description of the situation as "Israel's war against Hamas" is misleading. Since Israel's invasion, over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, almost all civilians, including over 13,000 children.
• Aftonbladet's editorial board believes that the UN and the international community must now enforce an immediate ceasefire.            

        

A Palestinian family breaks the fast outside their destroyed house in Rafah. Photo: Fatima Shbair/AP

On its website, the UN organization for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, appeals for support. For Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a time to think about suffering people, and the suffering in Gaza is one of the most horrific things happening on earth right now. 

At the same time, the Israeli military has decided to stop all UN aid shipments to the northern part of the area. UNRWA head Phillipe Lazzarini said that on Sunday.

A way to "deliberately prevent life-saving aid during a man-made famine," he wrote on X.

Misleading description

Ever since the end of October, we and others' media have been reporting on "Israel's war against Hamas". That's not a good description.

What we are seeing is not a war, and it is not being waged against Hamas. After the bestial act of terrorism on October 7, Hamas leadership and militiamen seem to have mostly gone into hiding, allowing defenseless civilians to suffer the vengeance they knew was coming.

Since the Israeli invasion, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. A large number of civilians. Over 13,000 children. They are the victims in what Tobias Billström has called a "proportionate response" - not Hamas.

Forced to flee

The people of Gaza have been repeatedly told to flee. Areas that were supposed to be safe have become targets for bombings and ground attacks. Healthcare is in ruins, literally. The sanitary conditions are terrible.

And on top of this the famine. Already a month ago, the UN agency UNICEF alerted that one in ten children suffered from acute malnutrition. And since then, the situation has worsened hour by hour.

Parents are forced to watch as their children die from lack of food, or from diseases that their weakened bodies cannot defend against. And the situation is worst in the north.

Closing the border

It is thus the reality that caused the Israeli military to close the small trickle of aid that came in across the border. The words are not enough.

That Israel deliberately and actively uses the famine as a weapon is the only conclusion that can be drawn. Apparently, the government in Jerusalem has completely stopped considering the people of Gaza as people.

This cannot continue. The decision to close the border for aid to starving people shows that the Israeli government has crossed a line. The UN General Assembly has finally managed to agree to demand a ceasefire during Ramadan. It must be followed by a permanent ceasefire. The world needs to show the determination required to stop the killing in Gaza.