This is a letter to the editor submitted to Blog for Iowa by our friend Ed Flaherty, peace activist. This letter was also sent to local papers.
22,000 Gazans Killed, More Dying
On January 1, 2024 it was announced that over 22,000 Gazans, mostly women and children, have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7th. Only eleven of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are functioning, and those barely by a string. Over 57,000 Gazans have been wounded. 85% of Gazans are homeless. Food, clean water, fuel, and medical supplies are very scarce, and the supplies that are allowed in via two Israeli-controlled check-points are grossly inadequate.
The U.S. has refused to support the cease-fire that most of the world insists upon. Instead, we have sent more arms to Israel and plan to send much more. If the US refuses to do what it can to stop the killing, might it not be of greater assistance in getting humanitarian aid to Gaza? I can imagine that the two US aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean, forty ships in all, have ample humanitarian supplies, and could get resupplied in short order. Why not airlift supplies into areas of Gaza that Hamas and Israel would certify as “deconflicted?” I can imagine the holiday spirit feeling among Navy crews knowing they were helping save lives.
The killing must stop. But until it does, the death toll from injuries, starvation, exposure and disease will accelerate. The world’s view of the U.S. would improve if we took modest but aggressive steps to help stop the dying. That surely should be possible in this season when many celebrate the birth, two millennia ago, of a Palestinian baby
###
For more information:
https://time.com/6344440/us-vetoes-un-resolution-gaza-ceasefire-backlash/
Blog For Iowa 