BBC Discovers Gaza Has Been 'Rebuilt' Before
When the BBC covers an 89-year-old Palestinian who's seen Gaza rebuilt 'before' but now gives up hope, it's a touching human-interest story. What they conveniently omit, however, is that each 'rebuilding' followed another Israeli military offensive. This isn't a natural disaster; it's a deliberate, cyclical destruction of infrastructure, most recently costing over 37,000 lives and destroying 80%
of buildings, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and UN reports. (Source: BBC World) Perhaps the BBC could have mentioned that 'rebuilding' Gaza previously involved billions in international aid, while the US consistently provides billions in unconditional military aid to Israel, totaling over $3 billion annually, allowing Israel to continue this cycle with impunity. (Source: Congressional
Research Service, OpenSecrets.org). One might wonder if the elderly woman's lack of hope stems from recognizing this pattern of state-sponsored demolition and US-funded reconstruction, rather than simply 'this time being different.'