Public Comment

As Israel continues to block lifesaving humanitarian aid to northern Gaza, international organizations are describing the siege as “apocalyptic,” warning of mass starvation and death. Rachael Cummings of Save the Children International reports from Deir al-Balah that aid groups are unable to reach northern areas, where the crisis worsens daily. Israel recently bombed a polio vaccination center in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan district, even after agreeing to a humanitarian pause for polio immunizations. The attack has intensified parents’ fears about bringing their children to health facilities. 

The situation is dire. UNICEF reports that over 50 children were killed in Israeli strikes on the Jabaliya refugee camp in just 48 hours, with two residential buildings sheltering displaced families reduced to rubble. A UNICEF vehicle was also attacked by an Israeli drone, highlighting the constant danger aid workers face. In response, humanitarian organizations are urgently demanding a ceasefire and unimpeded access for aid deliveries. 

The World Health Organization confirms that the polio immunization campaign has been severely disrupted, leaving 15,000 children across northern Gaza without this critical vaccine. The loss of UNRWA’s support, following Israel’s recent vote to sever ties, further jeopardizes humanitarian efforts. UNRWA provides essential services, from health consultations to shelter management, and its absence will have catastrophic consequences. 

A Palestinian mother in Gaza City, Azhar Al-Najjar, describes the plight of her children, who missed polio vaccinations due to the ongoing siege: “Those who do not die from bombardments are dying from hunger,” she pleads. Aid workers warn that Gaza’s children have endured relentless trauma, with education suspended and living conditions deteriorating. They stress the urgent need for sustained humanitarian aid and global intervention to end this crisis. 

Thousands of Palestinians have fled to neighboring Jordan and beyond, becoming refugees in their own homeland under Israel’s cruel and barbaric colonial occupation. The U.S. must immediately halt all weapons transfers to Israel, demand the resumption of food, water, and fuel deliveries to feed starving Palestinians, and ensure that UNRWA can continue its critical operations. It is time to stop coddling Israel’s apartheid, non-democratic government, which uses U.S. weapons to terrorize defenseless Palestinian civilians.