The Irish Times view on starvation in Gaza: the world cannot look away
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to fire on Palestinian civilians who are desperately seeking food, killing hundreds. A fresh incursion by the Israel Defense Forces into central Gaza has wrought yet more destruction and death.
Any prospect of an end to the violence remains elusive. Early hopes of a breakthrough in ceasefire talks, sparked by an initially positive Israeli response to the latest proposals from Hamas, were extinguished within hours when the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams from Qatar, saying Hamas was not acting in good faith.
With reports of rising starvation in Gaza growing ever more urgent, a far-right minister in the Israeli government made a deeply disturbing statement on Thursday. Amichay Eliyahu declared that Israel had no duty to alleviate hunger in the territory and was actively seeking to expel its population. His chilling comparison that 'there is no nation that feeds its enemies' – adding that 'the British didn't feed the Nazis, nor did the Americans feed the Japanese' – displays a disregard for Palestinian lives as well as being a gross misrepresentation of the nature of the current conflict.
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As an occupying power with total control over Gaza's entry points and overwhelming military dominance over its civilian population, Israel bears clear responsibility for what is happening there. Although Israeli military officials denied that Eliyahu's statements reflected their strategy in Gaza, Binyamin Netanyahu's government declined to rebut them. The contempt for human rights expressed by the minister lends credence to accusations that Israel is engaged in systematic war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In a notable development on Friday, French president Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognise the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The decision was predictably condemned by the American and Israeli governments. But, coming from a major power, it marks a significant shift. Taoiseach Micheál Martin was correct, however, when he said last month that the inability of EU member states to come to a unified position on the issue was a 'stain' on the union.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza demands immediate action. The silence of some world leaders is dangerously close to complicity. It is no longer sustainable.
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Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Paul Kearns: It's not as simple as Bob Geldof thinks for Israelis to 'snap out of it'
'What has happened to the Israeli people?'. Bob Geldof last week made an impassioned plea to Miriam O'Callaghan on RTÉ's Primetime for 'Israelis to snap out of it' and 'to rise up against their government'. In the context of the daily horrific images from Gaza and more than 20 months of onslaught on the Palestinian civilian population, Geldof asks an important and, I would argue, very profound question: 'What has happened to the Israeli people?'. But here is a startling fact. In no other country in the world over the past two and a half years have there been larger and more consistent political demonstrations against the current far-right Israeli messianic government than in Israel itself. Within weeks of assuming power, hundreds of thousands of Israelis began protesting weekly against the anti-human rights agenda of their government. The coalition of five right-wing, religious, and Jewish supremacist parties that make up the government received a minority of the popular vote (48.4%) in the election that brought them to power. Political parties to the left — admittedly a broad spectrum from centre-right to progressive left — won more than 50% of the vote in that fateful election. Sometimes the vagaries of the electoral system tip victory to the loser. Those demonstrations have at times reached more than a quarter of a million on a single Saturday night in Tel Aviv alone. Since the October 7 Hamas terror attack, and despite an inevitable rallying around the flag effect, tens of thousands of Israelis opposed to Netanyahu have continued to take to the streets. Demonstrations only ceased when rockets rained down from Hamas at the start of the war, and more recently, over the 12-day war with incoming ballistic missiles from Iran. Yet despite two years of weekly protests and plunging political popularity, this government remains in power. Most Israelis feel exhausted. Most feel powerless. If families of the remaining hostages have been unable to pressure their government to prioritise Israeli lives, the lives of their children held in underground tunnels for two years, does Geldof think that they can pressurise the government to consider the fate of Palestinian children? Mainstream, secular, and centrist Israelis feel under assault. First, they came under attack from their government, then came the trauma of October 7 and the murder of over 1,200 Israelis by Hamas in a short few hours. Within 48 hours of those terror attacks, anti-Israeli demonstrations had erupted around the world, and then came months of rocket attacks, including cruise missiles from Iran. Despite the war, or perhaps because of it, the government continues to assault its civil liberties by advancing authoritarian legislation. In addition, the exponential growth of global anti-Semitism is undeniable. A protest outside the US embassy demanding the end of the war and immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Tel Aviv earlier this month. Picture: AP/Maya Alleruzzo Most Israelis are vehemently opposed to their messianic revolutionary government. They are revolted by the images of marauding settlers on the West Bank, and also sickened by the words of many far-right ministers that ricochet around the world in minutes. Some of those same far-right ministers have mocked and belittled the families of hostages. Today, 70% want the war to stop, irrespective of so-called concessions to Hamas. International revulsion at the dystopian images coming from Gaza is understandable. With that, revulsion has come an undeniable visceral hatred of all Israelis. I think hate is not too strong a word. Visceral hatred of Israelis is now not just politically acceptable; it is widely socially championed — and let's be clear, we are talking about Israeli Jews. One in five Israeli citizens is a Palestinian or an Israeli Arab. The dehumanisation of all Palestinians by too many Israelis is now arguably matched by the demonisation of Israeli Jews by non-Israelis. There is a similar groupthink, and an 'othering' that lumps all Israelis together. This demonisation can have, has had, chilling outcomes. Geldof says Israelis are subject to 'heavily censored news'. There is, however, no government censorship of the news in Israel, at least not in the general understanding of the word. The mainstream commercial TV news channels indeed refuse to show what the rest of the world sees nightly. Ironically, it is the public service broadcaster, Kan, which recently shows the most graphic footage. News editors have told me Kan's two commercial rivals are more concerned about a TV ratings war than revealing the truth of the war in Gaza. In fact, many journalists of the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli paper of record, are fearless in their criticism and condemnation of both the government and the war on Gaza. Some of the most powerful investigative journalism exposing Israel's war crimes in Gaza has come from Israeli Haaretz investigative journalists. This includes a recent damning revelation of a shoot-to-kill policy of Israeli soldiers at food distribution points in Gaza. Haaretz is on sale in every town and city in Israel. Perhaps the very fact Haaretz is readily available makes the seeming indifference of too many Israelis more inexcusable. Geldof argues there are no excuses for the seeming Israeli difference to genocide 70km from Tel Aviv. He is right, there aren't. I have written many times in this newspaper about the moral failures of Israeli society, particularly its universities, trade unions, and television media stars, to speak out more loudly about the undeniable Israeli war crimes. There is, of course, no context to acts of genocide. There is, however, a context to the simple assertion that Israelis 'snap out of it' and 'rise up against their government'. If the fate of governments were determined by the scale and duration of street power alone, this unpopular far-right regime would have long since been consigned to the dustbin of political history by Israelis themselves. And perhaps, just perhaps, tens of thousands of dead Palestinians would be alive today. Paul Kearns is an Irish journalist living in Israel
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: State must be ready to step in
Despite the sense of relief from some (and reaction is mixed) in the wake of the US-EU trade talks at Donald Trump's golf course in Scotland on Sunday, there is still much to distil from the agreement and its effects across Europe's industrial, manufacturing, energy, and agriculture sectors. While many businesses received a certain clarity, there are still numerous dark corners which need light shone upon them and it is now incumbent on our Government to identify those at risk as a result of the new tariffs and provide a financial bulwark for them. In the same way that Brexit introduced a new level of challenges to Irish industries and businesses, the new tariff regime will require the Government to act similarly — by introducing supports — if widespread job losses, factory closures, and business shut-downs are to be avoided. Our pharmaceutical industry remains our biggest sector vulnerable to the capriciousness of US economic policy. It will take some time for the effects of this deal to percolate down through our exporters, whatever products they are engaged in manufacturing, and to see which of our manufacturing businesses are going to take the biggest hits. While we can console ourselves that the outcome was not as bad as it might have been, even for the business that see it as a successful conclusion to talks it still represents a considerable threat to their wellbeing as industries and therefore the job security of the employees. The Government has a limited pot of cash to provide the necessary supports, but must clearly target those sectors — and jobs — where the risks are greatest. Even in a best-case scenario turbulent economic times lie ahead and dropping the ball could be catastrophic. Swift and decisive interpretation of the tariffs is needed to identify where we most need to provide resources to sustain businesses and employment. Israel reaction is to deflect blame With some 2m people starving in Gaza, the slight relaxing by Israel of its aid blockade is is little other than a PR exercise by the government in Tel Aviv. Israel is pursuing this course in order to try and remove itself from blame for the killing and starvation of Palestinian civilians, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. With the international community — including dozens of governments, UN agencies and other international agents, alongside opponents to the war within Israel itself — intent on detailing Israel's culpability, the reaction in Tel Aviv has been to obfuscate. Ministers there have suggested that there is no hunger in Gaza and even if it does exist it is not Israel's fault; rather, the blame lies with Hamas and the UN or the many aid organisations trying to provide both food and succour to the Palestinian people. As far-right members of Benjamin Netanyahu's government remain unapologetic about policies seemingly intent on wreaking starvation, disease, ethnic cleansing, and genocide on the people of Gaza, official Israeli denials ring hollow. Government claims that 'there is no famine in Gaza — there is a famine of truth' are palpable nonsense and illustrate clearly that the Netanyahu administration is deceiving itself and its people and attempting to do the same to the rest of the world. Thankfully the international community is having none of this guff and its ratcheting up of pressure on the Israeli government has at least provided the respite of 'military pauses' which are at least proving a small window for aid to get through. But that pressure has to be maintained and intensified if Israel is to be prevented from committing war crimes far greater than anything it has heretofore been accused of. Make them stars The success of the Women's European Championships — which ended with overall victory for England — highlighted not only the massive growth in popularity of women's sport, but the increasing feeling here in Ireland that we need to be part of the bigger picture. While we have for years been able to savour the skills on display in our native camogie and football codes, the international successes Ireland has recently enjoyed in soccer, horse racing, rugby, golf, hockey, swimming, and athletics — to name a few — have increased the profile of our sportswomen to hitherto unprecedented levels. There seems little doubt that women's sport is going to be one of the biggest growth segments in sport worldwide and Ireland has the opportunity to play a huge role in that. Historically we have not properly exploited the successes of such as Katie Taylor, the late Maeve Kyle, Sonia O'Sullivan as much as we did those of Barry McGuigan, Ronnie Delaney, Stephen Roche, and many others. A weekend event in Páirc Uí Chaoimh promoting involvement and demanding investment was a wonderful occasion. But the idea of creating many more world-beaters is even better. It is to the nation's eternal shame that the equal rights as specified in the 1916 Proclamation were never fulfilled — but women's sport represents a new, bright horizon. To properly mine the current and future successes of Irish women across the sporting spectrum, massive investment is needed to not only increase participation, but to find those future stars who will make Ireland an exemplar of equal opportunity. Read More Irish Examiner view: This may be the dawn of the clean energy era
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
14 more dead of starvation in Gaza as Trump vows food aid
As the death toll from two years of war in Gaza nears 60,000, a growing number of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition, Gaza health authorities say, with images of starving children shocking the world and fuelling international criticism of Israel over sharply worsening conditions. Describing starvation in Gaza as real, Mr Trump's assessment put him at odds with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Sunday 'there is no starvation in Gaza' and vowed to fight on against the Palestinian militant group Hamas – a statement he reposted on X yesterday. Mr Trump, speaking during a visit to Scotland, said Israel has a lot of responsibility for aid flows, and that a lot of people could be saved. 'You have a lot of starving people. We're going to set up food centres,' with no fences or boundaries, to ease access, Mr Trump said. The US would work with other countries to provide more humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, including food and sanitation, he said. A White House spokesperson said additional details on the food centres would be 'forthcoming'. Yesterday, the Gaza health ministry said at least 14 people had died in the past 24 hours of starvation and malnutrition, bringing the war's death toll from hunger to 147, including 88 children, most in just the last few weeks. Israel announced several measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian pauses to fighting in three areas of Gaza, new safe corridors for aid convoys, and airdrops. The decision followed the collapse of ceasefire talks on Friday. Two Israeli defence officials said the international pressure prompted the new Israeli measures, as did the worsening conditions on the ground. UN agencies said a long-term and steady supply of aid was needed. The World Food Programme said 60 trucks of aid had been dispatched. Almost 470,000 people in Gaza are enduring famine-like conditions, with 90,000 women and children in need of specialist nutrition treatments, it said. 'Our target at the moment, every day is to get 100 trucks into Gaza,' WFP regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, Samer AbdelJaber, said. Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the situation is catastrophic. 'At this time, children are dying every single day from starvation, from preventable disease. So time has run out.' Mr Netanyahu has denied any policy of starvation towards Gaza, saying aid supplies would be kept up whether Israel was negotiating a ceasefire or fighting. A spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that Israel had not placed a time limit on the humanitarian pauses in its military operation, a day after UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said that Israel had decided 'to support a one-week scale-up of aid'. 'We hope this pause will last much longer than a week, ultimately turning into a permanent ceasefire,' Mr Fletcher's spokesperson, Eri Kaneko, said. Mr Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Compared to last week, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said, there had only been a 'small uptick' in the amount of aid being transported into Gaza since Israel started the humanitarian pauses. Wessal Nabil, from Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, described the struggle of trying to feed her three children. 'When you go to bed hungry, you wake up hungry. We distract them with anything... to make them calm down,' she told Reuters. 'I call on the world, on those with merciful hearts, the compassionate, to look at us with compassion, to be kind to us, to stand with us until aid comes in and ensure it reaches us.' In his statement on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would continue to fight until it achieved the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas and the destruction of its military and governing capabilities. Mr Trump said Hamas had become difficult to deal with in recent days, but he was talking with Mr Netanyahu about 'various plans' to free hostages still held in the enclave. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked communities across the border in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. The Gaza health ministry said that 98 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours. Some of the trucks that made it into Gaza were seized by desperate Palestinians, and some by armed looters, witnesses said.
