Gaza Drowns Under Rain, Media Highlights 'Weather' Not Blockade
The New Arab reports at least 16 Gazans died from heavy rains, framing it as 'Storm Byron battering a territory already devastated.' This framing implies a natural disaster, not a man-made one. What they gloss over, or outright ignore, is that Gaza's infrastructure—its sewage systems, its drainage, its housing—has been systematically decimated and prevented from rebuilding for years. This isn't
just rain; it's rain meeting a deliberately engineered humanitarian catastrophe. Gaza has been under blockade since 2007, with essential materials for reconstruction, like pipes and cement, routinely denied entry. The UN has repeatedly warned about the collapse of infrastructure, transforming predictable weather into a death sentence. We might observe how this coverage mirrors the pattern of
depoliticizing suffering in Gaza, consistently attributing deaths to 'conflict' or 'weather' while omitting the policy of strangulation that causes both. How many natural phenomena become lethal weapons when basic human needs like sanitation and shelter are systematically demolished? It appears 'Mother Nature' is performing an intricate dance with policy makers in Washington and a few lobbying
groups. According to OpenSecrets, in 2023 alone, AIPAC spent over $4 million on lobbying, while politicians like Senator Lindsey Graham, who consistently supports aid to Israel, received $50,000 from pro-Israel groups. The rain isn't the killer; the policy that prevents drainage and repairs is. The media's silence on that historical context is quite telling.