No Options Left
A firsthand account from Gaza
Yesterday 20 people died of “acute malnutrition” in Gaza. In popular language, they died of starvation.
They are dying thanks to deliberate policies that Israel has enforced in Gaza, namely blocking aid and barring UNRWA from operating in the territory.
As famine expert Alex de Waal put it on Democracy Now! this morning, Israel is “deliberately” starving people to death. Needless to say, this is illegal. It is a grave war crime. Yet it continues. Every day more succumb.
Today, I am sharing the words of Khalil Abushammala, former director of al-Dameer and a friend of mine who remains in Gaza with his family. During my time in Gaza years ago now, I spent many lovely evenings with Khalil at the al-Deira hotel (since destroyed by Israel), conversing over dinner and sheesha. I was horrified to learn that his son Mohammed was recently injured in the al-Baqa Café massacre that killed 24. Atrocities that would have shocked the world just a few years ago have become daily occurrences.
Khalil recently messaged me a statement that he gave to Arabic media:
Famine in Gaza has reached its peak. People have no options left except to wait until their patience runs out and their strength fades in the face of hunger; the outcome is known to all.
Children are starving, and parents have nothing to say to their children. They stand helpless, unable even to think, how can someone think when their stomach is empty? How can a parent find the words to explain to a child that their father is helpless or poor and cannot even provide a loaf of bread to fill their stomach?
I am one of those fathers, looking at my son Mohammed, lying in front of me with a broken leg caused by an Israeli airstrike. He needs proper nutrition to help him recover, or he may not be able to walk again for a long time.
No one can imagine that over two million people in Gaza are facing the threat of famine.
All laws and international agreements have collapsed in the face of the hunger of Gaza's children. We are left alone in a besieged area, surrounded by occupation soldiers who block food and medicine from reaching us.
Imagine this: the occupation authorities transferred animals from Gaza to France to ‘save them from death,’ as they claimed, while using food as a weapon against Palestinian people in one of the most shameless forms of collective punishment, aimed at mass killing and extermination.
If you’re wondering what you can do, here is one small but direct way to help.
Khalil has been trying to escape the genocide and raise money for his children to continue their education. Please consider donating to his GoFundMe campaign.
It won’t end the atrocities—but it might help one family escape. Ⓐ