Why Israel must let food and medicine into Gaza for its own sake

It was created as “an intentional community of Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel ded­icated to justice, peace and equality in the country and the region”. That it is relatively small and sometimes attracts condemnation from both sides does not matter, they are still right. It is possible for people to live together in peace, regardless of differences of religion or ethnicity, and it is important for someone to keep saying this, amid all the bloodshed, hatred and grief.

However, I recognise that Israel has been, for decades, in a tough situation, surrounded by hostile states. So after the horrific October 7 attack – in which innocent, unarmed civilians, including babies, children and people in their 90s, were murdered and young women were raped near the bodies of their dead friends – I understood why Israel had no choice but to attack Hamas and the other terrorist groups involved. I also realised, horrifyingly, that this would mean large numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza.

Hamas threatened repeat of October 7

This may have been part of Hamas’s calculations. They certainly knew that Israel would respond and clearly hoped any overreaction would bring others, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran, into the fight. Hamas threats to launch similar attacks appeared designed to force Israel’s hand.

I almost felt ashamed that I thought this was necessary but, still, in my opinion then, it was. Over the next 18 months, tens of thousands of people have been killed in Gaza, from a baby just a few hours old to a man aged 101.

During that time, I moved away from supporting Israel’s right to defend itself to believing they were going too far, killing too many innocent people, but I stayed silent. I cannot any longer. I don’t particularly want to write this article, but almost feel compelled to do so.

Since March 2, Israel has blockaded Gaza, preventing food, medicine and other aid from entering. Last week, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz made an utterly chilling statement: “Israel's policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population.”

Gaza turned into ‘mass grave’

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “intensive military operations, displacement orders, the blockade on the entry of all aid and commercial supplies, and shrinking humanitarian space are driving what is likely the worst humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip since October 2023”.

According to Amande Bazerolle, Gaza emergency coordinator for medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières, "Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance”.

“We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza,” Bazerolle said. “With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care.”

According to the Red Cross, the “healthcare system is on the edge of collapse” and it is “vital that humanitarian aid is able to enter Gaza”.

A brutal perspective

Given I have never been to the Middle East, Israelis who support the Netanyahu government will doubtless say I don’t understand their situation, that my concerns about the humanitarian crisis are naive, and that I lack the proper perspective.

However, brutal conflicts have a tendency to alter people’s perspectives in a way that allows acts which would once have been met with horror. The bombing of Guernica in the Spanish Civil War sparked global outrage but, only a few years later, the Allies were carpet-bombing cities just like the Nazis.

From a distance, many people are increasingly appalled by the Israeli government’s actions. In my youth in the 1980s, support for Israel in the UK was so strong it seemed almost universal. That has changed dramatically in the years since. A YouGov poll in December found 26 per cent of people in the UK said their sympathies “lie more with the Palestinians”, compared to 17 per cent for the Israelis.

In the US, both the Democrats and Republicans have maintained strong support for Israel, but during the recent election campaign Joe Biden came under significant pressure to do more to save Palestinian lives.

Israelis opposed to Netanyahu

It is important to remember there are many people in Israel who vehemently disagree with Netanyahu over the war. For example, the Arab-Jewish movement Standing Together has been organising peace protests in which the demonstrators hold pictures of children killed in Gaza.

In a social media post on Sunday, the group said the police had tried to ban this tactic. “Tel Aviv Police informed us that they prohibit us from displaying photos of Palestinian children in Gaza, killed by airforce bombing, in our upcoming anti-war protest on Thursday. After public pressure, they backtracked. We will not be silenced!” they wrote.

The police’s actions were a blatant attack on freedom of expression. But their attempt to cover up the reality of what is happening, to hide the consequences of the Israeli government’s actions, might also be an indication of a degree of shame. Regardless of the circumstances, it’s impossible to justify the killing of children.

Impossible to defend

The war in Gaza may not have sparked the major regional conflict that Hamas perhaps wanted, but it is damaging Israel in other ways.

The growing humanitarian crisis is a tragedy that will increasingly turn global public opinion against Israel. Stopping supplies of food and medicine is impossible for decent politicians in the West to defend.

Israel needs allies more than most countries. Without them, it would be left in a dangerously isolated position.