Statement on the killing of starving Gaza residents

The death toll of Palestinians seeking food at the hands of Israeli troops is staggering.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz began its editorial comment on July 16 as follows: "Headline after headline: '34 killed near Gaza port, including women and children' (June 30, 2025); '509 killed near Gaza aid distribution centers since late May' (July 4); '80 killed, including eight seeking aid' (July 8); '10 children killed waiting for nutritional supplements in Deir al-Balah' (July 10); '70 dead, including 28 waiting for humanitarian aid' (July 12); and 'Six children killed at water distribution site' (July 13)."

Today, the online edition of Haaretz followed up by reporting the following: "Local health officials in Gaza said on Monday that 27 Palestinians were killed since the break of dawn... On Sunday, at least 85 Palestinians seeking aid were killed in the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials."

And the World Food Programme is reporting that soon after one of its convoys carrying vital food aid entered Gaza yesterday, large crowds of civilians waiting for the food "came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire." 

The BBC reported today that nearly 1,000 people have died trying to access aid in the last two months. 

It cannot be beyond human ingenuity to provide food to starving people without killing them.

I weep at the starvation of the people of Gaza. I weep at the killing of civilian men, women and children in revenge for the Hamas killings of October 2023. I weep at the evidence of the ethnic cleansing of Gaza as we watch.

History will judge us if we don't speak out and act against these crimes.

††Thabo Cape Town