Israel is starving the population, Oxfam is outraged

The severity of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip outrages Oxfam International, which accuses the Israeli government of using hunger as a “weapon of war” to “collectively punish” the population of the Palestinian territory following the Hamas attack from October 7.

“The situation is just horrible – where is humanity? “, asked in a press release on Wednesday the director of the organization in the Middle East, Sallu Abi Khail, who urges “world leaders” to intervene to convince Tel Aviv to ease the blockade preventing the entry of water, food and fuel.

Oxfam calculated that less than 2% of the food aid that would normally have been delivered to Gaza over the past two weeks was able to reach its destination, leading to significant shortages.

During this period, nearly three-quarters of the territory’s two million residents had to abandon their homes to escape the bombings of the Israeli army, which intends to “destroy” Hamas.

They left more than 6,500 dead, according to local authorities, a toll questioned on Wednesday by American President Joe Biden.

Oxfam’s exit comes the day after a controversial intervention by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the same subject.

The UN representative outraged Israeli authorities by declaring during a Security Council debate in New York that the Hamas attack, which killed nearly 1,400 Israelis, could not justify the imposition of collective punishment on the population of Gaza.

Mr. Guterres returned to his statement on Wednesday, noting that he had in no way sought to justify the “terrorist actions” of the Islamist organization while Israel announced its intention to refuse visa requests from representatives “hostile” of the United Nations.

Spain, which currently presides over the European Union, and Portugal intervened in support of Mr. Guterres. The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, simultaneously requested a humanitarian truce to facilitate the delivery of aid to the population of Gaza before the expected launch of a major ground offensive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on television on Wednesday, without specifying a timetable, that the army was “preparing” to move forward and would aim to destroy Hamas’ “military and governmental” capabilities.

The bombings are described by Tel Aviv as an important step towards “improving” the strategic position of the troops before their entry into Gaza.

Israel wants in particular to destroy the important network of tunnels built by the Islamist organization, which holds nearly 220 hostages, including several dozen foreigners.

Qatar, which plays a mediating role, indicated on Wednesday that there could “soon” be new developments on this plan after the release of four women, while insisting on the need for a negotiated solution to the conflict.

No progress is emerging on this front, Israel and Hamas now heading towards a frontal land confrontation which could take on significant regional significance if Iran, hostile to Israel and the United States, decides to launch its militias into the fray. .

THE Wall Street Journal said Wednesday that Israeli authorities had agreed to delay the ground operation while awaiting the arrival of anti-missile systems that could protect American soldiers present in several countries in the region from hostile fire.

Two sophisticated “Iron Dome” air defense systems must also be sent to Israel to strengthen the protection measures in place.

Tel Aviv must deal with the threat of Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite movement established in Lebanon, controlled by Iran, which has tens of thousands of missiles.

Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based Atlantic Council analyst, said in an interview Wednesday that the Lebanese population was living in fear of a new conflict likely to cause numerous civilian casualties as in the previous clash in 2006.

Israel, he said, would not emerge unscathed from such a conflict, since Hezbollah has the capacity to target its infrastructure almost anywhere in the country.

The Islamist organization would for its part be largely weakened at the end of the fighting and would then have to deal with the opposition of the Lebanese population, including the Shiites who constitute its traditional base, notes Mr. Blanford.

Like other analysts interviewed by The Presshe does not believe that Iran will want to take the risk of losing Hezbollah to save Hamas.

The limited clashes that have occurred over the past two weeks on the border of Israel and Lebanon – which take place in a strip of land approximately five kilometers deep – show that both sides are aware of the risks and want to minimize the possibility of escalation, he notes.

The launch of the ground offensive in Gaza will undoubtedly lead to an intensification of tensions, but clashes should remain limited, notes the analyst, who cannot completely exclude the worst-case scenario.

“If Hezbollah ever fires a missile towards a major Israeli city and inflicts significant damage, that will be a sign to me that the gloves have come off,” he concludes.

With the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters