- cross-posted to:
- world@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- world@lemmy.world
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday told local media, “There is no hunger. There was no hunger. There was a shortage, and there was certainly no policy of starvation.”
In the face of international outcry, Netanyahu has pushed back, saying reports of starvation are “lies” promoted by Hamas.
However, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric this week warned that starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at the highest levels since the war began.
The U.N. says nearly 12,000 children under 5 were found to have acute malnutrition in July — including more than 2,500 with severe malnutrition, the most dangerous level. The World Health Organization says the numbers are likely an undercount.
The past two weeks, Israel has allowed around triple the amount of food into Gaza than had been entering since late May. That followed 2 1/2 months when Israel barred all food, medicine and other supplies, saying it was to pressure Hamas to release hostages taken during its 2023 attack that launched the war. The new influx has brought more food within reach for some of the population and lowered some prices in marketplaces, though it remains far more expensive than prewar levels and unaffordable for many.
The fuck is wrong with the world?
If headlines flashed a picture of starving children in Africa … someone would help.
If headlines flashed a picture of starving children in Canada … government would step in to do something.
If headlines flashed a picture of starving children in Europe … countries would mobilize to do something.
If headlines flash pictures of starving children in Palestine!!! TURN THE PAGE, nothing to see here, nothing can be done, just ignore it for as long possible, nothing to see here.
There have been pictures of kids in this state from Africa for decades, such that people have become numb to it. People mostly don’t help. People are more worried about their own next meal now, because many people in ‘first world’ countries are one paycheque away from starvation themselves, and that’s only been made worse by the wealth-hoarding of a very few.
I think most people want to care, but the treadmill they’re on makes them only able to see their own feet.
This image is horrific, but if they stop running, this will be their own children, and that’s exactly what those in charge want you to feel.
You’d think, right? I’m guessing you aren’t old enough to remember the 1980s famine in Ethiopia. Yeah, there were things like Band Aid and We Are The World, but also:
https://youtube.com/shorts/M0LUdqFJEPI
Definitely old enough to remember 1980s famine relief … and also old enough to remember in the 90s when Bono from U2 saying that the whole famine relief thing was a joke … because they raised enough money in the millions to pay off the interest payments of some of the starving countries FOR ONE YEAR!! … the criticism was that the performers were raising money to feed starving people, while first world countries handed out enormous loans with interest payments that more or less cancelled out any humanitarian aid they gave the countries.
The whole system is a joke … first world countries keep third world countries from developing beyond a certain point to keep them under control to access their resources, then give them humanitarian aid to keep them from starving, while making the same amount of money off them by making them pay for the debt on the loans they gave them.
So in a round about way, first world countries have a hand in keeping African countries starving, but make themselves feel good by giving aid … but make themselves feel even better because they recoup that money and more through loan payments and interest … essentially making money off starving people.
My corvid in Christ…there are pictures of children in Alabama, and Oklahoma, and Kentucky of starving and abused young ones. Sometimes they even get shot en masse while cooped inside a concrete box.
We have… rolled back child labor laws, begun defunding all science and diverting money straight to concentration camps. Who’s gonna save the American children?
Countries and voluntary organizations have tried and are trying to help, but Israel is actively preventing help from coming through.
Greta Thunberg and others have been very active in trying to demonstrate that, and create publicity about it.
The level of evil by Israel and Netanyahu is clearly matching the evils of Hitler.
And yes the world needs to step in to stop Israel from actively performing genocide in Gaza.