‘LIKE GIVING A DROWNING PERSON A BREATH OF AIR’
An eyewitness account of the ongoing devastation in Gaza
The world remains on fire in many places, but it is easy to forget that things are still burning in Gaza, and the worst is not over for the Palestinians.
The Israelis are in the process of deciding whether once again to bomb what they fear is a rebuilt Hezbollah command in Lebanon. I’ve been told by an informed official that the Iranian Army, more than a million strong, may hold the fate of Iran. President Donald Trump, after attacking Venezuela and apprehending President Nicolás Maduro, now claims control of more oil in reserve than Saudi Arabia and Russia put together, and of course far more than China. Russian President Vladimir Putin has gone missing from the peace talks with Ukraine.
The Israel military, under the command of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is continuing to drop bombs on Gaza as yet another ceasefire is broken. Now squeezed into one half of Gaza, the Palestinians are staying put and doing all they can to stay alive. Some are even preparing to plant their crops for the coming season.
It is a miracle of endurance despite the fact that, as the New York Times reported this week, the Israeli Air Force and Army have destroyed more than 2,500 buildings in Gaza since the ceasefire agreement with Israel was signed last October. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian survivors are now living in tents that are flooded in heavy rain. It is a zone that is very cold.
As has been widely reported, there is now more food coming into Gaza, but much of it does not reach those in need but instead those most able to pay.
I recently had a long talk with a veteran observer of Gaza, who has been visiting the territory for years, long before and many times after the murderous Hamas attacks on Israel of October 7, 2023.
The official tolls for Gazans after the reprisals for those attacks began now stand at more than 71,000 deaths and more 171,000 injuries. There is no reliable estimate of the number of young children whose physical development and mental well-being have been stunted by the lack of food, safe housing, and sanitation during the ongoing Israeli war and occupation.
The veteran observer described to me the state of Gaza today:
“There were phases when there was a lot of food coming in, but now is not one of those phases. It’s not hard to find food, but it is very expensive, and some parts of Gaza will have more food than others. It’s winter, and it’s freezing, and people are recovering from a famine which is still there even though it’s no longer officially declared.” Famine was officially declared in Gaza in August, but the designation was withdrawn after the October ceasefire.
She continued: “So great. You get a few trucks of flour. A doctor told me that when you’re suffering from severe malnutrition, giving one a meal or two days of meals is like giving a drowning person a breath of air. But the machine has already started rotting where the body is eating itself, and that takes a lot longer to stop.
