They Hunger

During World War II, the Nazis employed a so-called Hunger Plan to starve a sizable portion of the Soviet Union’s citizens. Sadly, it worked, killing millions of people. As stated on the Noble Peace Center’s website, “Hitler had long been aware of the power that lay in controlling the food.”

As Israel’s war against Gaza began in October 2023, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant demanded “no power, no food, no gas” for the already besieged Gaza Strip. In fact, Gaza had been suffering from a blockade since 2007. Now things were set to get even worse.

And, as history has proven with this type of genocidal strategy, it worked yet again. By the end of January 2024, The New York Times reported that people in Gaza were struggling to find basics like clean water, baby formula, and flour. Can you imagine not being able to find food for your children? 

Those who survived weeks of nonstop Israeli shelling and were driven from their homes now had to face famine and disease. Yet Israelis protested against and blocked aid trucks from entering Gaza, harming people who had nothing to do with the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.

This is a sick world we live in. The people suffering from having the basic necessities of life withheld from them were innocent civilians. They had nothing to do with Hamas nor its October 7th attack. Yet about 2 million people were being collectively punished with hunger in the middle of winter.

This is illegal under international law, but law aside, how about simple human compassion and morality? Will we ever learn from history, or will it continue to repeat itself? Shame on humanity.