Gaza experiencing "alarming levels" of hunger, UN agency warns

[Donkees]

From CNN's Lindsay Isaac

In northern Gaza, 97% of households have inadequate food consumption and approximately 83% in southern Gaza are "adopting extreme consumption strategies" to survive as the Israel-Hamas war has caused "unimaginable loss, destruction and misery" in the strip, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said Thursday

"Everyone in Gaza is hungry," WFP chief Cindy McCain warned on social media platform X, formerly called Twitter. She also reiterated support for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres' appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire.

In a report, the WFP said 9 out of 10 people in northern Gaza are going a full day and night without food consistently. CNN has reported on starving residents in Gaza digging for food, supplies under the rubble.



Palestinians line up for food in Rafah, Gaza, on November 30. Hatem Ali/AP

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-12-07-23/index.html

[cayugafalls]

1. That picture destroys my heart.

I fucking hate war.

[SYGDeb]

4. General Discussion

Me too.

[Big Blue Marble]

10. This is intentional starvation, not just war. N/T

[cayugafalls]

14. Please, do not in any way confuse my empathy for anything other than empathy.

I understand the daily.

There is no need to be explaining to me the results of this war.

[Big Blue Marble]

18. Please accept my apology.

As you may have guessed, I was responding to another poster.

I am sure my post was confusing. Sorry

[cayugafalls]

21. Thank you.

I really appreciate your response.

and of course I accept...

cayugafalls

[madaboutharry]

2. I just viewed a clip from Al Jazeera in which Gazans were accusing Hamas of stealing and hoarding humanitarian aid.

Hamas is intentionally keeping the humanitarian aid from reaching the people of Gaza so that the world will see photos exactly like the one posted in the OP.

[SYGDeb]

5. Madaboutharry

Yes
..they are but people are still starving.

[madaboutharry]

6. They are starving because Hamas wants them to starve.

This has always been the plan of Hamas, to bring unspeakable suffering to the Palestinian people in pursuit of their goal to wipe Israel off the map and kill every Israeli and Jew within their sight. Hamas believes that creating misery, anarchy, and destruction will enable them in achieving the dream of an extremist Islamic State.

It is terrible that people are suffering. Arab leaders must do all they can to stop Hamas from denying the people of Gaza the aid they need. The people of Gaza live under the tyranny of fanatics who are robbing them not only of their basic needs but are also robbing them of a future.

This war can stop by this afternoon. That decision rests with Hamas.

[GuppyGal]

9. But instead Arab leaders are busy condemning Israel....not one of them has condemned Hamas. nt

[Big Blue Marble]

11. No, there is not enough food for 2.3 million people being delivered due to Israel restrictions.

Hamas, of course, will steal what they can. That is not why the people are starving.

Before the war, it took 500 aid trucks a day to in the food and supplies necessary.
Now if 100 a day are allowed in, it's a lot. Distribution is a nightmare with bombing
now in the south. And most people have no place to cook or prepare foods.

Yesterday, the right-wing ministers including Smotrich were refusing to allow the
security to meet because they want to stop all humanitarian aid into Gaza.

[GuppyGal]

8. These terrorists will stop at nothing. nt

[Oopsie Daisy]

3. Someone should let Hamas know. They could stop this war TODAY if they wanted to.

But, this is the war they WANTED. Hamas doesn't care about civilians, the young, the old, the sick. That's why they sockpiled weapons near/in/under hospitals and near/in/under schools. That's why they bivouac in and amongst civilians. It's always been about USING them as shields and propaganda. They calculated wrong.

I just wonder if it was all worth it to them. Looking back, what did they accomplish? Did they meet their goals and objectives?

[haele]

7. Hamas' leadership goal is power and "respect" in the Arab world.

Hamas' general members have no goal other than perhaps 3 hots and a cot, along with being told they're important for the cause. They're just disposable weapons for the leadership. If they had any real opportunity for a future, they wouldn't join Hamas.
Such is with all authoritarian organizations, especially criminal gangs when they are able to step into positions of power due to a vacuum in active governance. Keep the local citizenry stressed, in near poverty with little education, and you have plenty to harvest when you need raging human weapons for your ideological or klepto-political games.

Haele



Haele

[Oopsie Daisy]

12. Is it working? They certainly have "won the hearts" of many here *

* in the US and elsewhere around the world. (ie: folks that make excuses for rape, gang-rape, sexual mutilation, and murder-WHILE-raping)

[haele]

13. It works as well as it did for the leaders of ISIL/Daesh, ect.

What Hamas has done is nothing new in terms terrorist autocrats. Concurrent rape and murder were done in Ukraine, Myanmar, El Salvador, Chile, the old Soviet Union, Spain and Portugal during the Napoleonic Wars, all over Colonial Africa by several different European nations, France during the 14th/15th century Hundred Years wars and has been reported happening far back in history. Armies did it when they sacked citied and towns. Mercenary and slaver gangs raped and murdered when they would sweep through areas to pacify the locals as they looted and kidnapped what they could. The only difference between back then and now is the real-time viewership through Social Media. Now most civilized people can't pretend it doesn't happen, like they did in all the other countries I mentioned, because Hamas did it out in the open against a country with close ties to the US.

Hamas didn't invent what they did on October 7th. Their leadership knew full well what the outcome would be, and yes. It's worked out well for them. They get to cause chaos in the Western World, get more street cred amongst the Arab Hegemony groups as well as other anti-West regimes, and they gave hard-right non-Islamists a reason to ramp up lesser forms of atrocities against them to juice up the marketing of their particular criminal brand and recruiting. Its working out very well for the leadership of Hamas, and anyone who benefits politically from the escalation of conflict they're provoking.

I'm not saying don't go after Hamas. What I'm saying is understand why they did what they did. And don't give them the messy "kill them all and let God sort them out" recruiting plan they're counting on getting, or we all sit by and let Israel become the monster it is fighting. There are ways to destroy a snake, but starting from the tail doesn't work.

Haele

[LexVegas]

15. They have not been well served by Hamas, their elected government. nt

[WarGamer]

17. There have been NO recent elections.

Nothing since 2006

[TheKentuckian]

19. Talk to Hamas about that too.

[WarGamer]

20. Which is why one can not say "But the Palestinians voted for Hamas"

[WarGamer]

16. Some (not I) might comment, starvation is cheaper than bullets, 2000lb JDAM's and missiles.