VICTOR JOECKS: How the left feeds hunger in Gaza

If Western leftists cared less about starving children in Gaza, there would be fewer starving children in Gaza.

Food shortages have been a major concern in the Gaza Strip. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee recently said that those living there face “hunger and deprivation and possibly starvation.”

Leftists blame Israel. “The forced famine of more than 2 million people in Gaza, including one in five children, is the direct result of Israel withholding food aid,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on X. She called it a “genocide.”

There are similar sentiments around the world. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will soon recognize a Palestinian state. In his statement, Macron called bringing relief to Gaza’s civilian population an “urgent priority.” Britain and Canada have made similar moves, with leaders in both countries expressing concerns about humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

Take a moment to review what’s happening. Hamas is a U.S.-designated terror group that ran Gaza. It is open about its hatred of Israel.

“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it,” Hamas stated in the preamble of its 1988 charter.

That doesn’t have quite the same ring as, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel and slaughtered around 1,200 people. Most of them were civilians. It also kidnapped around 250 people and continues to hold some 20 hostages.

In response, Israel launched a war on Hamas. It has killed many of its top leaders, but Hamas continues to recruit thousands of new fighters. Israeli efforts have left Hamas with a cash crunch. Even terrorists want to get paid. So Hamas has turned to a different source of income — stealing humanitarian aid.

In July, the United Nations reported that 1,123 U.N.-manifested trucks collected aid along the Gaza border. Of those, 1,055 were intercepted before arriving at their destination. In other words, less than 10 percent of U.N. aid arrived at its destination. Hamas probably took much of it.

Controlling food means power and money for Hamas. Little wonder it has worked hard to stop other sources of aid. The U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is attempting to give aid directly to civilians. Hamas warned Gazans not to accept the aid. Hamas has placed bounties on those distributing the food. In June, it even murdered several GHF aid workers.

That may seem like an odd response to someone handing out free food to a hungry populace. But it makes sense in the twisted minds of Hamas terrorists. Their highest priorities are destroying Israel and preserving their power. Unless they can steal large chunks of aid, they want Gazans to go hungry. They know Western leftists will then blame Israel and advance policies they want — such as recognizing a Palestinian state.

On Aug. 2 — amid the supposed starvation crisis — Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas official, praised the Oct. 7 massacre. It returned the “Palestinian cause” to center stage, he said.

“The whole world is acting against Israel,” he bragged. Further, “Israel is now accused of genocide.”

Connect the dots. Hamas could end the war by surrendering and releasing the hostages. That would bring food to Gaza. Instead, it has disrupted efforts to distribute aid. The morally indefensible result is that powerful world leaders attack Israel. Hamas couldn’t be happier, even though the cost is the suffering and reported deaths of its own people.

The incentives need to change. If leftists want civilians in Gaza to have better access to food, they should condemn Hamas, not Israel.

Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.