Nicholas Kristof: Biden must press Israel on Gaza relief
Israeli forces have entered Rafah, near the Egyptian border of the Gaza Strip, but we don’t yet fully understand whether this is the beginning of a full-scale ground invasion of the city or something more modest. What we do know is that the flow of desperately needed food aid into a territory that is already starving is severely impeded.
The World Food Program warns that there is already a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza, and children have already died of malnutrition. It’s unconscionable that children should be starving as trucks full of food line up outside the border, waiting to enter. Israel’s latest move aggravates the crisis.
The Israel military seized the Rafah border crossing Tuesday, halting the transfer of aid through that crossing from Egypt. And another crucial crossing, Kerem Shalom, was closed after a Hamas attack Sunday killed four soldiers in the area. There are other ways assistance could enter Gaza, but U.N. agencies warned that the closures of these two crucial crossings risk worsening the starvation.
Israel has the right to pursue Hamas fighters who attacked Israeli civilians in a brutal attack on Oct. 7 and to recover its hostages still kept in Gaza. But Israel does not have the right to starve civilians.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/nicholas-kristof-biden-must-press-israel-on-gaza-relief/
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