Version imprimable‘It’s a mousetrap’. This is how Norman Finkelstein describes the system set up by Israel to ‘distribute’ food aid to Gaza under the aegis of the American association GHF (Gaza humanitarian foundation). In the past, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, distributed aid smoothly at nearly 400 distribution points. But with GHF, only three or four distribution points open at specific times. The result: thousands of starving and dehydrated people gather en masse, becoming easy targets. Since this system was introduced, around 700 Palestinians have been killed.
Absolute cynicism
Testimonies from Israeli soldiers reveal the orders they received: shoot to control the crowd. "You arrive to queue early, they shoot at you. You walk along the road next to them, they shoot at you. You stay after closing to see if there’s anything left, you get shot. The slightest mistake cost you your life. No warning, no loudspeakers, no tear gas - just live ammunition. No exchange of fire - just pure, unadulterated slaughter.
The Israeli operation coordinating this operation is called Salted Fish, a name which Haaretz says refers to the Israeli version of the children’s game Red Light Green Light [also Statues or Grandmother’s Footsteps]. The cynicism of this name, which compares a massacre to a child’s game, is deeply revolting and bears witness to the horror of the situation. Squid game, but without the metaphor. Squid game, but in real life. [1]
Systematic destruction
Israel is not trying to manage the population of Gaza but to annihilate it by forcing it to wander in an attempt to feed itself, and by taking advantage of the situation to make it docile. In addition to the deaths during the distributions, Israel is continuing to destroy Gaza. Having razed Gaza City and Rafah to the ground, the attacks are now concentrating on towns such as Jabalia. The security zone now represents only 12% of Gaza’s territory; the rest is a deadly zone where the Israeli army shoots civilians on sight. Videos, captured by the soldiers themselves, continue to circulate, bearing witness to the brutality of the attacks.
Despite the Israeli propaganda, the testimonies of soldiers, who usually boast about their position, show that their situation is not as rosy as the State of Israel claims. The attack on an Israeli tank, which killed 7 people, and the ambushes show this. The war with Iran has also shown that the Israeli population is not immune, and the missile defence system cost nearly 500 million dollars in munitions during the 12 days of conflict.
Impunity and silence
Despite the ‘denunciations’ of Barrot and Macron, impunity remains total. Images of the famine situation are available to all, yet aid lorries are arriving in dribs and drabs. Rapper Bob Vylan provoked controversy by singing ‘Death to the IDF’ live, angering the BBC and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The people support Palestine, but their leaders silence them. This deafening silence is that of an ongoing genocide, of a population martyred by bombs and famine.
3 July 2027
Translated by International Viewpoint from l’Anticapitaliste.
