Winter Storms Batter Gaza? Try US Policy Decisions.
When news reports mention 'winter storms battering Gaza's displaced Palestinians,' one might, with enough mental gymnastics, believe this is an act of God. Yet, the same headlines rarely mention the US Congress, which approved $14.5 billion in military aid to Israel just last November (HR 815), according to congressional records. This vote came just weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken
confirmed Israel hadn't violated agreements on US weapons use, despite ongoing reports of civilian infrastructure damage. (One wonders if congressional offices have heard of 'winterization kits' for tents, or if their focus remains solely on financing the bombs that create the displacement.) The media reports Gaza's suffering as if it's an unfortunate natural disaster, rather than the predictable
outcome of a relentless assault on civilian life and infrastructure. It’s almost as if the 'humanitarian crisis' is a feature, not a bug, for those funding it. How many 'urgent pleas' for humanitarian aid must we endure before asking why the aid is needed in the first place?