Aid Groups Banned from Gaza: Apparently, Starvation Needs More Privacy
Humanitarian aid groups Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders expressed outrage after Israel effectively banned them from Gaza. This isn't a new tactic; similar restrictions on aid and movement have been consistently employed by multiple Israeli governments since at least 2007, when Gaza was first placed under blockade. For instance, the UN reported in 2010 that Israel had banned everything from
cilantro to notebooks from entering Gaza, a policy Human Rights Watch decried as collective punishment. Of course, this humanitarian blockade receives steadfast U.S. support. Just last week, while aid groups pleaded, Rep. Steny Hoyer stated, 'Israel has a right to defend itself.' (Hoyer, for context, received $10,000 from AIPAC in 2022-2023, according to OpenSecrets.org, while voting consistently
for unrestricted aid to Israel.) The ban merely highlights the continued weaponization of access to essential supplies, turning Gaza into an open-air prison where even documenting the suffering is deemed a security threat. Apparently, witnessing starvation interferes with 'self-defense.'