Daily Tribune (Philippines)

Full-blown Gaza famine looms

- STARGAZER BERNIE V. LOPEZ eastwindre­plyctr@gmail.com

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says the recent report of 30,000 killed in the Gaza Genocide is severely understate­d. He estimates at least 200,000 were killed, and this is rising rapidly, especially among children, based mostly on unreported deaths from starvation.

Professor Devi Sridhar of the University of Edinburgh, a forensic health specialist, predicts 500,000 will die by the end of 2024, suggesting a full-blown famine.

The main catalyst today for the rapid and total Gaza Genocide is mass hunger. The situation is evolving in intensity and speed into a deadly famine on a grand scale. A full-blown famine affecting the estimated 1.2 million Gazans (their exact number is undetermin­ed due to the constant movement of people) would, by far, outnumber airstrike casualties.

Starvation has different stages, from serious — eat today or die — to less serious, slow starvation and malnutriti­on. Through time, when the situation worsens, the less serious hunger will easily graduate to the serious and then towards critical mass. Sridhar’s prediction is alarming.

“In

all this, the mass hunger in Gaza is the major catalyst for genocide and a future deadly proxy war of giants beyond imaginatio­n.

The starvation in Gaza defies statistics. Even with reports from experts, the evolution towards famine is not known. The extent and speed of hunger is pure guesswork. And it can change rapidly in a matter of days, especially if more airstrikes and massacres trigger the mass movement of civilians.

Let us look at some of the more visible catalysts for famine. A recent social media report claims, “We are live in

New York as people gather to protest the massacre that happened today after the IDF killed over

100 Palestinia­n civilians who were attempting to get food from an aid truck.” (Source — https:// statuscoup.com/join/).

The report claims the IDF killed 112 Gazans while they were queueing for food trucks that arrived at 4 a.m. (Source — https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=KFBHVrYVmx­Y).

This claim by this relatively unknown website perhaps requires further verificati­on. But why has the mass media not picked it up? Is it fake news, or does mass media have a blackout since this type of news may have geopolitic­al repercussi­ons for certain powerful entities?

Netanyahu refuses to stop the ongoing airstrikes. The US and the UN are helpless in intervenin­g. But let us not put so much weight on US/UN interventi­on. The US remains an ally of Israel, which in itself implies the US looks away as Netanyahu continues the genocide. In other words, the US/UN, or elements within them, implicitly condone genocide.

By condoning, one is participat­ing and has equal responsibi­lity. In other words, this alliance fuels the famine indirectly. Israel and the US/ UN elements are held responsibl­e for future war escalation­s by the Arabs and Persians, who are seething with anger. It is a matter of time before an Arab/Persian response is forthcomin­g.

Food for thought. Is Netanyahu purposely seeking escalation because he feels it is inevitable and better to have the war now than later, giving the enemy more time to unite and prepare? Does Hamas have the same logic to escalate, to get more foreign aid and Arab-Persian support? Are they both inducing genocide — the IDF and Hamas?

In all this, the mass hunger in Gaza is the major catalyst for genocide and a future deadly proxy war of giants beyond imaginatio­n.

Some suggested solutions: The US/ UN can apply diplomatic pressure, with a threat to withdraw financial and military support from Netanyahu to stop all airstrikes, withdraw troops, and allow food trucks to deliver unhampered.

The US/UN should also send troops to take over the critical food aid. It must make an effort to pressure Hamas to turn over the aid to the Gazans; otherwise, the famine will speed up.

Let us pray for peace and for the beleaguere­d Gazans who face the prospect of total annihilati­on through hunger.

“A

fullblown famine affecting the estimated 1.2 million Gazans would, by far, outnumber airstrike casualties.

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