Gaza's New Restaurants: A Michelin Star on a Graveyard
NPR reports new markets and restaurants are emerging in Gaza, suggesting a flicker of life, yet acknowledges the exorbitant prices and continued reliance on aid. What it doesn't mention is that these 'markets' are often makeshift, and the 'restaurants' serve a tiny, embattled elite, while aid agencies warn of impending famine for the vast majority. This framing ignores UN reports of widespread
malnutrition and the deliberate destruction of agricultural land and infrastructure, a documented strategy of siege that dates back decades, effectively turning starvation into a weapon of war (as Human Rights Watch published in December 2023). It's a bizarre form of tourism promotion: 'Come to Gaza! Witness our resilience! Bring your own food, though.' One might ask, how many 'new restaurants'
does it take to distract from the 2.3 million people facing catastrophic hunger, a situation directly linked to blockades and bombing campaigns? The optics of a few overpriced cafes in the shadow of ongoing mass displacement and mass casualty events are less about rebuilding and more about sanitizing a catastrophe. Conveniently, the media rarely questions how such 'enterprise' flourishes when 85%
of the population is internally displaced.